■ ■■■■■ 

WMiM, 



THOUGHTS 



ON THE 



LOVE OF CHRIST, 



AS 



MANIFESTED TO A LOST WORLD; 



BY D. A. HARSHA. 



"And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge."— 
Eph, hi. 19. 

cc Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his 
life for his friends." — John xv. 13. 



ALBANY : 
E. H. PEASE £ CO., 82 STATE STREET. 

1851. 



ALBANY : 
J. MUNSELL } PRINTER. 



• * 



TO MY 

CHRISTIAN FRIENDS, RELATIVES AND ACQUAINTANCES, 

AND TO ALL 

WHO LOVE OUR LOED JESUS CHRIST 
IN SINCERITY, 

THIS LITTLE VOLUME 

JFs affection atelp,£nscrt{jcti bv 

THE AUTHOR, 



Exchange 
SEP 2 8 1916 



PEBFACE. 



This work is not designed as a systematic 
treatise, but as a feeble essay on the great, 
the inexhaustible subject of the love of Christ, 
as manifested to a lost world. 

It was composed during a long period of 
recovery from a chronic disease, which 
brought the author to the gates of death, and 
well nigh terminated his life. 

In the present volume, the author has 
endeavored to notice a few ways in which 
Christ has manifested his great love to 
sinners. 

His object in writing this, work is to do 
good; and should this little volume be the 
means of leading any sinner to the blessed 
Jesus, or of kindling a single spark of divine 
love in his bosom, or even of refreshing the 
soul of any saint— of animating him on his 
way to glory — he will feel amply rewarded 
for the toil of writing it, when in a state of 
much physical inability; and most gratefully 
would he ascribe all the praise and glory to 



VI PREFACE. 

God. He can bless the feeblest instrument ; 
and, without his blessing, all our labors for 
good must be futile. 

While the author would endeavor to lead 
others to the Lamb of God, to the bleeding 
Saviour, most humbly would he himself glory 
in the cross of Christ. " God forbid that I 
should glory, save in the cross of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified 
unto me, and I unto the world;" and ever 
does he hope to proclaim the love and set 
forth the praise of that blessed Redeemer, 
who left the regions of glory to live and die 
for sinners. 

" Jesus! my Shepherd, Husband, Friend: 
My Prophet, Priest, and King-, 
My Lord, my life, my way, my end, 

Accept the praise I bring. 
Weak is the effort of my heart, 

And cold my warmest thought; 
But when I see thee as thou art 

I'll praise thee as I ought. 
Till then I would thy love proclaim. 

With ev'ry fleeting breath ; 
And may the music of thy name 
Refresh my soul in death. 11 

D. A. H. 

North Argyle, N. Y. 
May 1st, 1851. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

PAGE. 



Introductory Essay, » 9 

CHAPTER II. 
The love of Christ in coming into the world to 

save sinners, 18 

CHAPTER III. 
The love of Christ as manifested in his sufferings 

and death, 33 

CHAPTER IV. 
The Love of Christ contemplated, 56 

CHAPTER V. 
The love of Christ in the bestowment of grace 
in the gift of his Word 5 and in the institu- 
tion of divine ordinances, 68 

CHAPTER VI. 
The love of Christ in affliction, 82 

CHAPTER VII. 
The love of Christ as manifested to his people in 
the hour of death, > . 96 



VIII 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

PAGE. 

The love of Christ in the hour of death, con- 
tinued. The cloud of witnesses, * . . . 109 

CHAPTER IX. 
The happy home in view, 144 

CHAPTER X. 
The happy home contemplated 5 being with 

Christ in glory, 159 

CHAPTER XI. 
The happy home contemplated. The blessed- 
ness of the saints 4 171 



THOUGHTS 

ON THE 

LOVE OF CHRIST. 



CHAPTER I. 

INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 

God designed from eternity to create this 
world, and people it with intelligent beings. 
This design was put into execution in the 
beginning of time. " In the beginning, God 
created the heavens and the earth. 55 * He 
spake, and this earth, with all its multifarious 
occupants, started into being. It required 
nothing but his Almighty fiat to usher a 
world and its inhabitants into existence. 
Man was created in the image of God : hence 
he was a holy and happy being. Unconta- 
minated by moral pollution, his soul was one 
of purity, holiness and happiness. He was 

* Gen. i, % 



10 



INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 



lord of this lower creation, enjoying the 
smiles of his beneficent Creator, and the de- 
light of the terrestrial paradise. Primeval 
beauty mantled all sublunary objects. Para- 
dise bloomed with its richest productions; 
and all was peace and harmony between man 
and his Creator. At length man disobeyed 
the divine command; sinned against God, 
and fell from his original blessedness, by eat- 
ing the forbidden fruit, 

" Whose mortal taste 
Brought death into the world, and all our woe." 

Milton. 

" By one man sin entered into the world, 
and death by sin; and so death passed upon 
all men, for that all have sinned."* 

When we contrast man's present deplora- 
ble condition, with his pristine state of 
innocence, we may w T ell exclaim with the 
Prophet, "Hew is the gold become dim! how 
is the most hit gold changed !"f "The 
crown is fallen from our head: woe unto us 
that we have sinned."J 

By his fall, man lost all communion with 
God, and became exposed to the miseries of 

*Rom. v, 12. fLam. iv, 1. |Lam. v, 16. 



INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 



11 



this life, to death itself, and to the wrath of 
God through eternity. From this sinful and 
lost condition he could not extricate himself; 
he could not redeem himself, nor pay unto 
God a sufficient ransom for his manifold trans- 
gressions. A broken law was to be fulfilled, 
the justice of God to be satisfied, and a com- 
plete atonement to be made for the sins of 
men, or else God and the sinner could never 
be reconciled. 

Punishment, everlasting punishment and 
destruction from the presence of the Lord, and 
from the glory of his power, awaited all 
mankind in the world of just retribution. All 
was forlorn; all was hopeless, forever hope- 
less with regard to man's redemption, had 
not God interposed on our behalf; to give 
unto us an expected end. It was the grand 
design of God, from all eternity, to exhibit 
a magnificent plan of salvation to a lost world. 

And everlasting praise and* thanksgiving 
be unto his most blessed name, that the glad 
tidings of this precious, unspeakably precious 
salvation have reached our ears. 

When there was no eye to pity sinners, 



12 



INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 



nor arm to save them, God's eye pitied, and 
his arm alone brought salvation to them. In 
infinite love to lost and perishing sinners, he 
said, " Deliver from going down to the pit; 
I have found a ransom."* To every redeemed 
sinner, God says, " When I passed by thee, 
and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I 
said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, 
Live; yea, I said unto thee when thou wast in 
thy blood, live. When I passed by thee and 
looked upon thee, behold thy time was the 
time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, 
and covered thy nakedness : yea, I sware 
unto thee, and entered into a covenant with 
thee, saith the Lord God, and thou becamest 
mine. 5 'f God did not leave all mankind to 
perish in their fallen, miserable and polluted 
condition. No! his love saved them; his 
wisdom devised a way by which we, polluted 
sinners, might be raised from the horrible pit 
into which our iniquities had consigned us. 

44 When in our blood we lay, 

He would not let us die ; 
Because his love had fix'd a day, 

To bring Salvation nigh." 

*Job xxxiii, 24. tEz. xvi, 6, 8. 



INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 



13 



The glorious plan of man's salvation ori- 
ginated in the infinite love of God the 
Father; and in this divine plan of redemp- 
tion, the most marvellous exhibition of the 
love of God to hell-deserving sinners is 
clearly seen. Here is love, the love of God: 
such love as could never have been conceived 
of, had it not been so amply revealed and 
manifested in the gift of his only begotten 
Son. " For God so loved the world (even a 
world of lost sinners) that he gave his only 
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in 
him should not perish, but have everlasting 
life. 5 '* " God is love," and our salvation is 
from the God of love, and is a salvation 
planned and executed in deep unfathomable 
love. " In this was manifested the love of 
God toward us, because that God sent his 
only begotten Son into the world, that we 
might live through him. Herein is love; 
not that we loved God, but that he loved us, 
and sent his Son to be the propitiation for 
our sins.' 5 * 

When we contemplate the greatness of 
God's love to sinners, we are compelled to 
* John iii, 16. 1 1 John iv, 9 3 10, 

I* 



14 



INTRODCUTORY ESSAY. 



pause, and exclaim with the admiring apo- 
stle, " Behold what manner of love the Fa- 
ther hath bestowed upon us, that we should 
be called the sons of God! " * 

Oh ! the riches of divine grace ! Oh ! the 
depths of divine love. How vast, how glo- 
rious, and how adequate to the wants of 
perishing sinners, is that plan of mercy — of 
love — of salvation, which God has devised 
to save a lost world ! It manifests the wis- 
dom, the justice, the power, but, above all, 
the love of God. 

"Salvation! what a glorious plan 5 

How suited to our need ! 
The grace that raises fallen man 

Is wonderful indeed! 

'Twas wisdom form'd the vast design, 

To ransom us when lost ; 
And love's unfathomable mine 

Provided all the cost. 

Truth, Wisdom, Justice, Pow'r and Love, 

In all their glory shone, 
When Jesus left the courts above, 

And died to save his own." 

Newton. 



* 1 John iii, 1. 



INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 



15 



God has chosen a portion of the human 
family to be the monuments of his free grace 
— trophies of his redeeming love; and for 
them he has sent his own son to suffer and 
die. 

In the profound depths of infinite love, the 
mercy of God to a lost world had its egress. 
Unsolicited and undeserved, it was never- 
theless extended to lost sinners : sinners > 
guilty and polluted, are the objects upon 
which the mercy and love of God are pro- 
fusely bestowed. 

Love is God's darling attribute, which he 
delights to manifest most illustriously; for 
God is love.* And he has most singularly 
displayed all his love to sinful man, in the 
contrivance of his salvation. 

Oh ! how immeasurably great was that 
love which saved a world from ruin, and 
raised millions of Adam's sons and daughters 
from eternal death and woe, to everlasting 
life and felicity ! Thanks be unto God for 
his unspeakable gift. 

The promise of a Great Deliverer, who 
should emancipate captivated man from the 
* 1 John iv, 8. 



16 



INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 



thraldom of sin and death, and accomplish 
his salvation, was early conveyed to our first 
parents. Before their expulsion from Para- 
dise, when all seemed lost, a gleam of hope 
shone around them. It was promised that 
the seed of the woman should bruise the head 
of the serpent; that the works of the devil 
should be destroyed. For this purpose, the 
Son of God was to be manifested in the flesh.* 
To the patriarchs the same promise was more 
amply conveyed. Abraham got a glimpse 
of the day of Christ, and was glad. Dying 
Jacob spoke of the coming of a Saviour. 
" The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, 
nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until 
Shiloh come."f Moses said to the children 
of Israel, 66 The Lord thy God will raise up 
unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, 
of thy brethren, like unto me : unto him ye 
shall hearkea.^'J 

Isaiah, wrapped in prophetic vision, elo- 
quently describes the advent and character- 
istics of the promised Messiah. " Unto us 
a child is born : unto us a son is given, and 
the government shall be upon his shoulder; 
* l John iii, 8. t Gen. xlix, 10. t Deut. xviii, 15. 



INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 



17 



and his name shall be called Wonderful, 
Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Ever- 
lasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 55 * 

" Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear 
a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. 5 'f 
All the prophets spoke of Him who was to 
come into the world to accomplish our salva- 
tion; " for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit 
of prophecy. 5 '! As the time approached, 
the promises of a divine Saviour were mul- 
tiplied. " But when the fulness of time was 
come, God sent forth his Son, made of a 
woman, made under the law, to redeem 
them that w T ere under the law, that we might 
receive the adoption of sons 55 || 

Love was the grand principle which 

prompted the blessed God to give his Son to 

die for sinners ; and love was the impelling 

motive that brought Immanuel from his 

throne, to this fallen world, in order to save 

the lost. How great, how sublime was that 

scheme of his to save a perishing world I 

How vast was that love which enabled him 

to execute this plan ! 

* Is. ix, 6. t Is. vii, 14. J Rev. xix, 10 a 
|| Gal. iv, 4, 5. 



CHAPTER II. 



THE LOVE OF CHRIST IN COMING INTO THE WORLD 
TO SAVE SINNERS. 

M This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that 
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. — 1 Tim. xi, 15. 

The gospel, as the name signifies, denotes 
glad tidings. This blessed gospel is sent to 
us : to you, reader, are these glad tidings 
conveyed. " That Christ Jesus came into 
the world to save sinners," is the best news 
that ever fell on the ears of a dying world. 
Life and immortality are brought to light 
through the gospel. Let us now contemplate 
the glorious character of our blessed Redeem- 
er, and the love which he has manifested in 
coming into the world to save sinners. 

1. In the person of Christ, the human and 
divine natures are united. His divinity is 
clearly asserted in the Scriptures. The Re- 
deemer of lost sinners is the eternal Son of 
God — equal with the Father, the Creator 
of the universe, the upholder of all things. 
Indeed, with supreme power, he reigns uni- 



THE LOVE OF CHRIST. 



19 



versal Lord. All power is given to him, in 
heaven and earth. All worlds are his. All 
kingdoms are his domain. He made all 
things. At his command, worlds started into 
being. By his power all created matter is 
upheld in existence. He has caused the sun 
to shine with undiminished splendor on our 
globe for nearly six thousand years. It is 
he " that spreadeth out the heavens, and 
treadeth upon the waves of the sea; that 
maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and 
the chambers of the south."* 

Open the blessed volume, and read the fun- 
damental doctrine of Christianity, that Christ, 
the redeemer of sinners, is God. " In the 
beginning was the Word, and the Word was 
with God, and the Word was God. All 
things were made by him; and without him 
was not anything made, that was made."f 
It is a matter of great consolation for the 
believer who has intrusted his immortal con- 
cerns in the hands of his blessed Redeemer, 
to know that he is God over all, blessed for 
ever. Let him ever bear in mind that the 
Saviour, who loves him, is the only begotten 
*Jobix, 8, 9. fJohni, 1, 3. 



20 THE LOVE OF CHRIST, 

son of God, and bears his very image. He 
is the brightness of his Father's glory, and 
the express image of his person. He is 
clothed with divine majesty, and possesses 
all divine perfections, and infinite excel- 
lences. He is equal with God in all his 
glorious perfections. 

He is called " the Lord of glory," the 
"King of glory," "The mighty God," 
" Jehovah;" and in the Revelation he is de- 
scribed as having on his vesture, and on his 
thigh a name written, " King of kings, and 
Lord of lords." * Again, it is said of him 
that he " is the image of the invisible God, 
the first-born of every creature : for by him 
were all things created that are in heaven, 
and that are in earth, visible and invisible; 
whether they be thrones or dominions, or 
principalities, or powers. All things were 
created by him and for him : and he is be- 
fore all things, and by him all things consist; 
and he is the head of the body, the church, 
who is the beginning, the first-born from the 
dead; that in all things he might have the 



*Rev. xix, 16. 



IN HIS INCARNATION. 



21 



pre-eminence. For it pleased the Father, 
that in him should all fullness dwell." * 

There is a transcendent loveliness in 
Christ's person. He is " fairer than the 
children of men :" " the chiefest among ten 
thousand; yea, he is altogether lovely." 
Oh! what glorious and lovely attractions cen- 
tre in Immanuel! Such is the character of 
Him who came into our sin-polluted world, 
to shed on Calvary his precious blood for the 
redemption of his people. 

2. Christ came into the world by being 

manifested in the flesh, yet he lost nothing of 

his essential glory and dominion. He w r as 

as truly " the brightness of his Father's 

glory," and the ow r ner of the universe, when 

in the manger, and on the cross, as he is now 

at the right hand of God: " Even the Son 

of man who is in heaven." Yet out of love 

to sinners, he chose to suffer that glory to be 

veiled in humanity, and himself to be made 

under the law to redeem his people. Oh ! what 

amazing love is seen here. " The Word 

was made flesh, and dwelt among us."f 

" God was manifest in the flesh." J Christ 

*Col. i, 15 - 19. t John i, 14, 1 1 Tim. iii, 16. 
2 



22 



THE LOVE OF CHRIST, 



Jesus was in the form of God, and thought 
it not robbery to be equal with God; but he 
" made himself of no reputation, and took 
upon him the form of a servant, and was 
made in the likeness of men." * The advent 
of Christ was the signal of peace on earth. 
His incarnation was an event of great joy to 
the world. To the shepherds of Bethlehem, 
the glad tidings of his birth were conveyed by 
an angel of the Lord. To them he pro- 
claimed : " Behold I bring you good tidings 
of great joy, which shall be to all people. 
For unto you is born this day, in the city of 
David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." f 
A new light then burst upon the world. The 
glorious Sun of Righteousness, emitting his 
resplendent rays upon kingdoms and nations 
involved in moral darkness, arose to en- 
lighten, to gladden and to bless our benighted 
planet. The prince of peace made his ap- 
pearance. The messenger of reconciliation 
came, to reconcile alienated man to the 
friendship of his offended Creator, and fit 
him for the mansions of glory. When such 
a momentous event had occured, when the 
*Phil. ii, 7. tLuke ii, 10,11. 



IN HIS INCARNATION. 



23 



eternal Son of God had invested himself with 
humanity, and become bone of our bone, and 
flesh of our flesh; well might the song of the 
heavenly host resound among the hills of 
Judea, proclaiming, " Glory be to God in 
the highest, and on earth peace, good will 
toward men." For unto us a Saviour was 
born. And never was human nature so 
highly honored and exalted as when Christ 
assumed it. Oh! what blessings are bestow- 
ed upon fallen man, through the incarnation 
of the Son of God. Eternity alone can unfold 
them. 

Christ came most willingly into the world 
to do the will of his heavenly Father. His 
w T ords were " Lo, I come: in the volume of 
the book it is written of me; I delight to do 
thy will, 0 my God." * Christ offered him- 
self a willing victim upon the altar of divine 
wrath. He came into the world. But oh! 
wonderful condescension and boundless love, 
that Christ should come into this sinful world. 
On the matchless condescension and kindness 
of Christ, as manifested by his incarnation, 
a pious writer f has the following beautiful 
*Ps. xl, 7, 8. f Thornton. 



24 



THE LOVE OF CHRIST, 



remarks: " Earthly princes are only feeble 
worms; their loftiest elevation is a molehill, 
and their brightest splendor a vain show. 
Yet how rarely do they descend from their 
thrones, to visit and relieve those who lan- 
guish in the abodes of poverty and wretch- 
edness! In our low and lost estate Jesus 
Christ not only saw and pitied us, but also 
hastened on the wings of love to bring salva- 
tion. 'He was eternally rich, yet for our 
sakes he became poor, that we through his 
poverty might be made rich.' " 

He was clothed with light, and surrounded 
with hosts of happy, adoring spirits; yet he 
submitted to put on our nature, and sojourn 
among guilty, worthless mortals. 

Herein is love! love without a parallel, 
love that exceeds description, and passes 
knowledge! 

The incarnation of the only begotten Son 
of God is a mystery of wisdom and love, 
in which all our thoughts ought to be ab- 
sorbed, and all our hearts with it should be 
enraptured. The wonders of the vast uni- 
verse, could they be collected and presented 



IN HIS INCARNATION. 



25 



to us in one view, would lose all their attrac- 
tion and dwindle into insignificance, were we 
stedfastly to contemplate the marvellous con- 
descension of the Redeemer, manifested in the 
humiliation to which he submitted on our 
account. When he exchanged his throne for 
the manger of Bethlehem, the shining ho^t of 
heaven burst into that sublime song, "Glory 
to God in the highest, on earth peace, and 
good will to men." Here is condescension 
which we could not have believed possible, 
had it not been so clearly and amply re- 
vealed. The kindness and love of God our 
Saviour towards man, appeared with pre- 
eminent lustre in the whole of that great 
work which he undertook to perform for 
their salvation. Oh! how ardent was that 
love which brought the ever blessed Son of 
God from heaven to earth, that he might 
save sinners. Oh! what but infinite love 
could have induced him to come into the 
world — to be made sin for us — to bear our 
sins in his own body, that we might be re- 
conciled to God, and be brought at last into 



2* 



26 



THE LOVE OF CHRIST, 



the everlasting mansions of glory, to be 
ever with the Lord. 

Jesus Christ is love itself embodied in a 
human form : that form once appeared on our 
earth, and trod the thorny pathway from the 
manger to the cross, till it was seen to bleed, 
and groan, and die, on Calvary, for sinners as 
vile as we are. Reader! have you an interest 
in that great work which Christ, by coming 
into the world, has finished? Are you deeply 
interested in his atonement, and righteous- 
ness? Is his love shed abroad in your heart? 
Is he unspeakably precious to you? For, 
says the Apostle, "unto you therefore which 
believe, he is precious." Can you adopt 
the language of the poet, and sweetly sing, 

Sweeter sounds than music knows. 
Charm me in Immanuel's name : 

All her hopes my spirit owes 
To his birth, and cross, and shame. 

When he came, the angels sung 

'Glory be to God on high ! ' 
Lord, unlose my stammering tongue : 

Who shall louder sing than I? — Newton, 



IN HIS INCARNATION. 



2? 



By his coming into the world and accom- 
plishing our salvation, Christ has opened 
the gates of the celestial city, through which 
redeemed sinners may now pass into mansions 
of eternal bliss. 0 sinner, the gates of Para- 
dise are now wide open for your reception; 
enter in and be saved. The arms of Christ 
are now stretched from heaven for your relief. 
Look up, then, with confidence to your loving 
Saviour. He now calls upon you from his 
eternal throne, "Look unto me and be ye 
saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am 
God, and there is none else; a just God, and 
a Saviour."* Sinner, have you looked to 
Christ for salvation? Jn him you will find 
an everlasting salvation. Everlasting salva- 
tion! precious words! It is the gift of God, 
through Jesus Christ our Lord. In the incar- 
nation of the Son of God, we behold immea- 
surably great love manifested to sinners. 
With love unparelleled, he descends to this 
sinful world, and lives and dies for the redemp- 
tion of his people. Love led him to forsake 
the regions of glory, for this dark abode of 
sin and suffering. 

*Is. xlv, 21, 22. 



28 



THE LOVE OF CHRIST, 



"Nothing brought him from above, 
Nothing but redeeming love." 

0, what love is here manifested to a guilty, 
rebellious world! "Ye know the grace of 
our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was 
rich, for your sakes he became poor, that 
ye through his poverty might be rich." 

But why did he thus veil his glory in 
humanity, and come into this world? It 
was to save sinners. "This is a faithful 
saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that 
Christ Jesus came into the world to save 
sinners." * 

3. To save sinners w T as the very object, 
for which Messiah left his throne; for which 
the Son of God became incarnate. "I am 
not come to call the righteous, but sinners 
to repentance."! "The Son of man is come 
to seek and to save that which was lost." J 
When Christ veiled his glory, and left the re- 
gions of bliss, it was to save sinners. When 
he assumed mortal flesh, and became a suf- 
fering man, it was to save sinners. When 
he bled and died on the cross, it was to save 
sinners. When he burst the fetters of death, 
*1 Tim. i, 15. tMat. ix, 13. JLuke xix, 10. 



IN SAVING SINNERS. 



29 



and in a glorified form ascended to heaven, 
it was to save sinners; and now that he is set 
down at the right hand of the throne of God, 
he is still carrying on his blessed work of 
saving sinners. 

It was infinite love that brought Christ into 
the world to save sinners. What amazing 
love is here displayed ! In man's redemption, 
the love of Christ shines with pre-eminer,t 
lustre. In his love, Christ came to save sin 
ners, and most willingly does he receive 
even the vilest sinner that comes to him for 
salvation. 

Reader, have you yet fled for refuge to the 
world's Redeemer? There is but one refuge 
provided for a lost world : Christ is that 
refuge. He shelters all that come to him. 
In him is eternal safety. Happy are they, 
whose hopes are fixed on him : they are safe; 
though all around them are changes and 
fluctuations, yet their rest is pitched aloft, far 
above this sphere of changing and perishing 
mortality. Onward and heavenward will be 
their course, and glorious will be their de- 



30 



THE LOVE OF CHRIST, 



stiny ! When Christ shall appear, they shall 
appear with him in glory. 

Animated by the hope of immortality, look 
with holy contempt upon the world and all 
its delusive pleasures. Let a joyful eternity 
be ever in your view. Choose Christ as your 
Saviour and portion, and heaven will be your 
home. You will quickly glide over the tem- 
pestuous sea of life, and land on 

"the peaceful shore 

Of blest eternity." 

Come, 0 sinner ! come and intrust your 
salvation to the blessed Jesus, who came to 
save sinners. He will not cast you out. 
Hear his own words : "Him that cometh to 
me, 1 will in no wise cast out."* He has a 
willing ear to hear your cry; a willing heart 
to receive you; willing arms to embrace you; 
almighty power to save you. 0 do not refuse 
the Lord of glory ! Do not contemn the 
gospel message of love. 

Behold your loving Saviour ! See what 
an interest he has taken in your eternal wel- 
fare. See him laying aside the robes of his 

* John vi, 37. 



IN SAVING SINNERS. 



31 



glory for you. See him, though high, be- 
coming low, though rich, becoming poor for 
you; and see him coming into this world to 
save you. Attend to his gracious calls. Seek 
him instantly. May the sweet influences of 
Christ's redeeming love constrain you to 
come and partake of the joys of salvation. 
Salvation by Christ ! Blessed gospel; well 
mayest thou be styled glad tidings of great 

In a word, I beseech you, dear reader, as 
you value the happiness of your immortal 
soul and the bliss of eternity, to make sure 
of your salvation. " Behold, now is the 
accepted time; behold, now is the day of 
salvation.' 5 To-morrow may be too late. 
To-morrow's sun may set upon your grave. 
Now " Seek ye the Lord while he may be 
found, call ye upon him while he is near : 
let the wicked forsake his way, and the un- 
righteous man his thoughts; and let him 
return unto the Lord, and he will have 
mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will 
abundantly pardon."* 

* Is. lv, 6, 7. 



THE LOVE OF CHRIST 



t{ Come, lepers, seize the present hour, 
The Saviour's grace to prove : 

He can relieve, for he has pow f r< 
He will, for he is love." — Newton. 



CHAPTER III. 



TliE LOVE OF CHRIST, AS MANIFESTED IN HIS 
SUFFERINGS AND DEATH. 

" Greater love bath no man than this, that a man lay down his 
life for his friends."— John xv, 13. 

" Religion! thou the soul of happiness-, 

And groaning Calvary, of thee! There shine 

The noblest truths ; there strongest motives sting ; 

There sacred violence assaults the soul; 

There nothing but compulsion is forborne. 

— Thou my all ! 

My theme ! my inspiration, and my crown ! 

My strength in age ! my rise in low estate ! 

My soul's ambition, pleasure, wealth-, my world! 

My light in darkness, and my life in death! 

My boast through time ! bliss through eternity ! 

Eternity too short to speak thy praise, 

Or fathom thy profound of love to man ! 

To man of men the meanest, ev'n to me ! 

My sacrifice! my God! What things are these? 

Talk they of morals? 0 thou bleeding Love! 

Thou maker of new morals to mankind ! 

The grand morality is love to thee ! " 

In the death of Christ, we behold the most 
astonishing exhibition of divine love that 
has ever been manifested to a lost world. 
3 



34 



THE LOVE OF CHRIST, 



Such love as is here displayed is without a 
precedent — without a parallel in the annals 
of time or in the records of eternity. To 
behold the Son of God, the Maker of worlds, 
bowing his head on the cross, and yielding 
up his immaculate soul amid the agonies of 
death, is the most wonderful, the most af- 
fecting, the most melting sight that mortals 
ever witnessed. Around the cross of Christ 
there shine the most resplendent rays of di- 
vine love that ever beamed from the Sun of 
Righteousness — that ever emanated from the 
Deity. 

Here then is the brightest display of love, 
that Christ has manifested to a world of pe- 
rishing sinners. " Greater love hath no man 
than this, that a man lay down his life for 
his friends."* But, oh ! amazing love ! that 
Christ breathed out his precious life, poured 
out his holy soul unto death, for his enemies, 
for the ungodly, for sinners. " For when we 
were yet without strength, in due time Christ 
died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a 
righteous man will one die : yet perad ven- 
ture for a good man some would even dare 
* John xv, 13, 



IN HIS SUFFERINGS AND DEATH. 35 

to die. But God commendeth his love to- 
ward us, in that while we were yet sinners, 
Christ died for us."* Christ died to save 
sinners : without his death, their salvation 
could not have been accomplished. Without 
the shedding of blood, there is no remission;! 
and without the shedding of Christ's precious 
blood, not a single sinner could have been 
saved. The salvation of countless millions 
was suspended on the death of Christ; but, 
in love, he died to save them. 

Here we may behold a little of the vast- 
ness of that love which cannot be measured, 
which cannot be told. The Saviour's love 
met death itself in the face, and triumphed 
over the grave. 0, my soul, look and wonder ! 
Behold thy Saviour bleeding on the cross; 
bleeding from every pore, that thy sins might 
be washed away in the flowing stream ! See 
him pouring out his soul unto death, for thy 
salvation; and ask, Is not this a manifesta- 
tion of unparalleled love to thee? 

O, blessed Jesus ! we come far short of 
comprehending the greatness of thy dying 
love. It is a great deep. It is a fathomless 
* Rom. v, 6 - 8. f Heb. ix, 22. 



36 



THE LOVE OP CHRIST, 



ocean. 0, may we contemplate more and 
more this mystery of divine love ! 

Christ's suffering and dying for us is a 
great mystery, a mystery of unfathomable 
love. Oh ! how vehement was the love of 
Christ, that led him to endure death in its 
most terrible form, even the death of the 
cross. " Love is strong as death : the coals 
thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most 
vehement flame. Many waters can not 
quench love; neither can the floods drown 
it."* Such is the love of Christ. All the 
waters of affliction and suffering ; all the 
billows of divine wrath that rolled over our 
blessed Redeemer, were not sufficient to 
quench the ardency of that love which he 
felt for a dying world of sinners. It will 
endure through time. It will shine with 
undiminished splendor, and glow brighter 
and brighter through eternity. 

Oh ! the infinite love of the Son of God, 
to shed his precious blood for sinners. The 
love of Christ, in dying for sinners, passeth 
all knowledge. It is immeasurable. It is 
as incomprehensible as the duration of eter- 
* Cant. vii. 6, 7. 



IN HIS SUFFERINGS AND DEATH. 37 

nity. It is as illimitable as boundless space. 
" It is as high as heaven ; what canst thou 
do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know? 
The measure thereof is longer than the earth, 
and broader than the sea."* 

0 love divine ! where are thy limits ? 
Great God ! beyond the sight of mortals, and 
of angels ! The stupendous sun, the brilliant 
moon, the amazing stars, the extended fir- 
mament; these have their bounds, but that 
love has none. 

Lift up your eyes, and behold this vast 
world, the product of His power ! See its 
continents, and its oceans extending for 
thousands of miles : these continents may 
be measured; but not his love, who, though 
God, became man, to die for man. Sooner 
would those unfathomable oceans be fa- 
thomed, than the depths of his compassion. 

Lift up your eyes to the heavens! Survey 
the councless glories of the starry firmament; 
all its fixed or 4 moving worlds of light ! 3 
Let your thoughts rove from star to star. 
How great is he who formed them all ! How 
glorious he who has bid them shine with 
* Job xi, 8, 9. 



38 



THE LOVE OF CHRIST, 



undiminished splendor through six thousand 
years, and to whom they are mean as a speck 
of flying dust ! Yet he who hung out those 
brilliant fires stooped from his amazing 
height of bliss and majesty, to assume mortal 
flesh, and appear a feeble infant and a suf- 
fering man. Far sooner should you measure 
their immeasurable distances, and count their 
countless numbers, than tell the vastness of 
his love, and the blessings it bestows. The 
sun is darkness, compared with His superior 
glory w T ho hung it in the heavens; and yet 
he humbled himself to the dark abodes of 
misery and death for guilty man. 

0! w T hen you gaze upon the blue expanse, 
or when the solemn stilness of night banishes 
from your mind the thoughts of a vain, de- 
parting world; when you behold the mid- 
night sky, and mark the thousands of its 
glowing fires; then think that he who fixed 
them there once hung on Calvary for you, 
that you might shine a star, a sun, in heaven, 
w T hen all those stars shall shine no more. 
Think that he was once mean and dishonored, 
stained with blood, and blue with blows, 



IN HIS SUFFERINGS AND DEATH. 39 

that you might have a treasure greater than 
a thousand worlds united, and infinitely more 
lasting than the countless lights which il- 
luminate the firmament. Amazing love ! * 

Here we must pause, and wonder, and 
praise, and adore; and in the midst of our 
adoration, exclaim, Lord! what is man, that 
thou art mindful of him; and the son of man, 
that thou shouldst thus visit him? 0 blessed 
Jesus! thou didst visit us in love — in great 
mercy. Thou didst bleed thy life's blood, 
that we might be washed from our sins in 
that blood of infinite virtue. Thou didst die, 
that we might live. Thou didst wear a crown 
of thorns, that we might w T ear a crow T n of 
glory, and shine as stars in heaven forever. 

0, to know more and more iabout the dying 
love of the Lord Jesus! The heart of Jesus 
is nothing but a heart of love : love to sin- 
ners, even the chief. It has been well re- 
marked, that " were all the love of all the 
men that ever were or shall be on the earth, 
and all the love of all the angels in heaven, 
united in one heart, it would be a cold heart 
to that which was pierced with the soldier's 
* Pike. 



40 



THE LOVE OF CHRIST, 



pear."* 0 thou loving, bleeding Lamb of 
God ! come, wash us in that blood which 
flowed from thy wounded heart, from thy 
pierced side; which streamed from Calvary, 
a fountain of overflowing, inexhaustible 
depths of redeeming blood. " In that day 
there shall be a fountain opened to the house 
of David, and to the inhabitants of Jerusa- 
lem, for sin and for uncleanness."f Blessed 
be God ! that fountain has been opened these 
eighteen hundred years, and is as inexhaust- 
ible as ever. 

" Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to 
the waters ; and he that hath no money, 
come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine 
and milk without money and without price."! 
Oh ! what stupendous love has Christ here 
manifested, in washing away the sins of a 
lost multitude in his own most precious blood. 
Well may redeemed sinners shout in songs 
of praise to their adorable Redeemer, " Unto 
him that loved us, and washed us from our 
sins in his own blood, and hath made us 
kings and priests unto God and his Father; 

* Maclaurin. t Zech. xiii, 1. $ Is. lv, 1. 



IN HIS SUFFERINGS AND DEATH. 41 



unto him be glory and domnion for ever and 
ever. Amen." 

" Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to 
receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and 
strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing." 

Oh ! the infinite efficacy of the blood of 
Christ to cleanse from all sin. " The blood 
of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin.' 5 * 
Through the blood of Christ, pardon and 
peace flow to guilty sinners. " In whom we 
have redemption through his blood, the for- 
giveness of sins, according to the riches of 
his grace."f " Christ died for our sins, ac- 
cording to the Scriptures."J 66 Through this 
man is preached unto you the forgiveness of 
sins."|| " He made peace through the blood 
of his cross."§ Precious blood that redeems 
us from eternal misery, and brings us nigh 
to God ! " Now in Christ Jesus, ye who 
sometime were far off, are made nigh by the 
blood of Christ."1T Oh! costly price of man's 
redemption — the precious blood of Christ. 
" Ye know that ye were not redeemed with 
corruptible things, as silver and gold ; but 

* 1 John i, 7. % 1 Cor. xv, 3. § Col. i, 20. 
t Eph. i, 7." |! Acts xiii, 38. % Eph. ii, 13. 



42 



THE LOVE OF CHRIST* 



with the precious blood of Christ, as of a 
lamb without blemish and without spot."* 
" For ye are bought with a price : therefore 
glorify God in your body and in your spirit, 
which are GodVf 0, my soul! look with 
astonishment at the price paid for thy re- 
demption — the infinitely precious blood of 
Christ. 

Dear reader, look and live ! Look at the 
blessed Jesus, bleeding and dying on the 
cross for your sins. "As Moses lifted up the 
serpent in the wilderness, even so must the 
Son of man be lifted up ; that whosoever 
believeth in him should not perish, but have 
eternal life."J 

" Upon the cross I see him bleed, 
And by the sight from guilt am freed : 
This sight destroys the life of sin, 
And quickens heavenly life within." 

A bleeding Saviour, seen by faith, is the 
sight that gives peace to the guilty, heavy- 
laden soul. It is the blood of Christ sprin- 
kled upon the conscience, that makes peace 
between God and the sinner. 

But what intense sufferings our divine 
* 1 Pet. i, 18, 19. 1 1 Cor. vi, 20. J John iii, 14, 15. 



IN HIS SUFFERINGS AND DEATH. 43 

Redeemer endured, when he " bore our sins 
in his own body;" when he was made to be 
sin for us; when he suffered, the just for the 
unjust. As our substitute, he endured the 
wrath of God, and suffered for our sins. It 
was infinite love that led the blessed Son of 
God to endure all these sufferings, and, at 
last to submit to the painful death of the 
cross. How brightly did this love shine in 
the last hours of his life, when he was about 
to bleed on Calvary ! What but infinite love 
led him to the garden of Gethsemane, to en- 
dure that bitter agony; when he said, " My 
soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death," * 
and w T here " his sweat was as it were great 
drops of blood falling down to the ground !"f 
What but infinite love led him to the judg- 
ment hall, there to be derided, condemned 
to death, and crowned with thorns; where 
" his visage was so marred more than any 
man, and his form more than the sons of 
men ! v | What but infinite love brought him 
to Calvary's mount, there to hang a suffer- 
ing, bleeding victim on the cross, for our 
sins? 

* Mark xiv, 34. f Luke xxii, 44. % Isa. lii, 14. 



44 



THE LOVE OF CHRIST, 



There is nothing that shows the love of 
Christ like Calvary. It is there that all 
the rays of divine love are blended together. 
In that dark hour in which our Saviour hung 
on the cross, he showed to the world that 
his love was stronger than death: then he 
exhibited more than human love; he mani- 
fested the infinite love of God. Amidst all 
his sufferings, divine love shone with the 
greatest lustre. Oh! who can tell what love 
Christ felt for a lost world when he suffered 
on the cross? Then he was about to accom- 
plish our salvation; and his love became 
stronger and stronger. Though he grappled 
with the powers of darkness, yet his arm 
brought salvation. He endured the hidings 
of his Father's countenance, till he was led 
to exclaim, in the bitterness of his soul, "My 
God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" 
But he made an end of sin, and brought in 
an everlasting righteousness; and amidst the 
last struggles of his holy soul, there fell from 
his lips in dying accents, these most blessed 
words — the most joyful ever conveyed to a 
sinner's ear, "It is finished !" Yes, your 



IN HIS SUFFERINGS AND DEATH. 45 

salvation* sinner, is accomplished by this 
wondrous death — by that divine personage 
who endured it. 

O, look at this exhibition of love! Was 
there ever such love manifested to a lost 
world, as is here displayed before your eyes? 
Reader, contemplate Christ crucified. 

How intently was the mind of the great 
apostle fixed on this prolific theme! His 
language to the Corinthians is, " I deter- 
mined not to know any thing among you, 
save Jesus Christ and him crucified."* You 
also may look towards Calvary, and with the 
same apostle, exclaim, " God forbid that I 
should glory, save in the cross of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified 
unto me, and I unto the w r orld."f 0, blessed 
Jesus! we cannot comprehend the vastness 
of thy dying love. 

"The propitiatory death of Christ," says 
a late pious writer,! "viewed by faith, fills 
and absorbs the mind, touches and melts the 
heart, raises and refines the affections, and 
completely transforms the whole character." 
* 1 Cor. ii, 2. t Gal. vi, 14. | Thornton. 

4 



46 



THE LOVE OF CHRIST, 



" Herein is love/ 5 says John; " not that 
we loved God, but that he loved us, and gave 
his Son to be a propitiation for our sins.' 5 
" For the love of Christ constraineth us, be- 
because we thus judge, that if one died for 
all, then were all dead; and that he died for 
all, that they which live should not hence- 
forth live unto themselves, but unto him 
which died for them, and rose again. 55 * 

Is it surprising, then, that Christ should be 
precious to believers? Can we see his match- 
less condescension, in stooping from a throne 
of glory, to a cross of suffering and shame; 
can we understand the great end of his 
amazing humiliation and vicarious death; 
can we feel the sprinkling of his peace- 
speaking blood upon the conscience, and not 
love, adore, and magnify him? '0 ye cold- 
hearted, frozen formalists! on such a theme 
it is impious to be calm. Passion is reason, 
transport is temper, here. 5 What can ele- 
vate and rejoice the soul, if it be unaffected 
with the highest manifestations of eternal 
love ? In the death of Christ, the power, 
wisdom, justice, and mercy of God, shine 
•2 Cor. v, 14, 15. 



IN HIS SUFFERINGS AND DEATH. 47 



forth in full unclouded splendor. What 
language can, with clue force, express the 
tender and lively emotions which spring up 
in the christian's breast as he silently muses 
on the delightful subject of redeeming love ? 
O God ! what is man, that thou art mindful 
of him 1 Thou didst not even spare thine 
own Son, but freely delivered him up for us 
all. Who am I, that such a price should be 
paid for my ransom ? It was not with silver 
and gold, and corruptible things, that my 
soul was redeemed, but by the precious 
blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish 
and without spot. Why, blessed and adorable 
Saviour, didst thou look in compassion on 
me, a worthless worrn 5 a vile apostate, a 
hell-deserving rebel ? 0 how is my soul lost 
in admiration and delight, when I contem- 
plate this mystery ! May thy love ever glow 
in my heart, and thy praise on my tongue! 
May I wholly live to thee, who hast died for 
me. 

" Oh, woncProus love! to bleed and die 5 
To bear the cross and shame ; 
That guilty sinners, such as I, 
Might plead thy gracious name," 



48 



THE LOVE OF CHRIST, 



The death of Christ delivers us from con- 
demnation. When a sinner, by faith, obtains 
a sight of the crucified One, he boldly ex- 
claims in the face of all his enemies, " Who 
is he that condemneth ? It is Christ that 
died." By his death he has satisfied divine 
justice, and reconciled us to God; and "there 
is therefore now no condemnation to them 
which are in Christ Jesus."* " Being jus- 
tified by faith, w T e have peace with God 
through our Lord Jesus Christ;" and being 
now justified by his blood, we shall be saved 
from wrath through him. " When we were 
enemies, we were reconciled to God by the 
death of his Son."f 0, to have an interest 
in that atonement which Christ made for our 
sins! " By whom we have now received the 
atonement."! 

Reader, I w T ould not lead you to Sinai, but 
to Calvary — to the Saviour's bleeding side. 
I would point you to the cross of Christ; to 
Him, who, in his great love, once suffered, 
and bled, and died for sinners. I would direct 
you to the bleeding Lamb of God, "which 
taketh away the sin of the world." May 

* Rom. viii, 1. t Rom. v, 1, 9 y 10. J Rom. v, 11, 



IN HIS SUFFERINGS AND DEATH. 49 

you behold Him with the eye of faith; even 
Him who so loved you, that he laid down his 
own life for you. Then shall " the peace of 
God, which passeth all understanding/ 5 fill 
your heart. Then shall heavenly joys possess 
your renewed spirit; and one unbroken strain 
of praise shall, through time and eternity, 
arise from your purified, exalted, and en- 
raptured soul, to Him that loved you, and 
washed you from your sins in his own blood. 

Look at Jesus now\ Have faith in his 
atoning blood. Endeavor to obtain a glimpse 
of the bleeding Saviour. 

* 1 A bleeding Saviour seen by faith, 

A sense of pard'ning love 
A hope that triumphs over death. 

Give joys like those above. 

To take a glimpse within the vail 5 

To know that God is mine ; 
Are springs of joy that never fail, 

Unspeakable! divine! " — Newton. 

The sufferings and death of the Son of 

God afford the most illustrious exhibition of 

divine love that has ever been displayed on 

this terrestrial globe. Here is exhibited 

love, such as never before shone on earth; 
4* 



50 



THE LOVE OF CHRIST, 



love, surpassing human thought and coin- 
prehension. Truly, here the love of Christ 
passeth knowledge! Oh ! what wonderful 
love and condescension are here manifested. 
Christ dying for sinners ! The Son of God 
nailed to the cross for sinners ! The blood of 
Immanuel flowing from Calvary for sinners! 

Our blessed Saviour, " who, being in the 
form of God, thought it not robbery to be 
equal with God, made himself of no reputa- 
tion, and took upon him the form of a 
servant, and was made in the likeness of men; 
and being found in fashion as a man, he 
humbled himself, and became obedient unto 
death, even the death of the cross."* 0, 
wonderful love that made the only begotten 
Son of God lay down his life for sinners! 

"That such a person as Christ," says an 
old divine,f "so excellent, so innocent, 
should undergo death, and such a death as 
that of the cross, so disgraceful, so painful ; 
that he should submit to such ignominy, and 
endure such agony, such tearing of his 
flesh, such pressure in his spirit, with such 
submission and patience, for strangers and 

* Phil, ii, 6-8, t Vince t. 



IN HIS SUFFERINGS AND DEATH. 51 



enemies ! Here was love, stronger than 
death. Oh ! the height, oh ! the depth of 
this love i There are such dimensions in this 
love of Christ, as the longest line of our most 
extended thoughts and imaginations can 
never be able to reach and measure." 

What amazing love did Christ manifest, 
when he, who was the brightness of his Fa- 
ther's glory, exchanged that crown of glory 
which he wore in heaven, for a crown of 
thorns on earth, and bled, and died on the 
cross for guilty man! 

Sinner, " Behold the Lamb of God ! " 
Contemplate your divine Redeemer, who has 
shed his precious blood to save your soul from 
eternal misery. In love he died to save you. 
0, then, contemplate this loving Saviour in 
his sufferings and death! 

u Think how on the cross he hung, 

Pierc'd with a thousand wounds ! 
Hark, from each, as with a tongue, 

The voice of pardon sounds ! 
See, from all his bursting veins, 

Blood of wond'rous virtue flow ! 
Shed to wash away thy stains, 

And ransom thee from woe." — Newton. 



52 



THE I.0VE OF CHRIST, 



Sin er, flee to Christ. He will receive you 
joyfully, and save you with an everlasting 
salvation. He will rejoice over you with great 
joy. He is a loving Saviour, and he loves 
to save sinners. He, " for the joy that was 
set before him" (the joy of saving sinners), 
" endured the cross, despising the shame, and 
is" now " set down at the right hand of the 
throne of God."* " Wherefore he is able 
also to save them to the uttermost that come 
unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to 
make intercession for them."f 

Come, now, and put your trust in this 
Saviour. Leave with him your immortal 
concerns. Intrust fearlessly your whole sal- 
vation to him. Think not that he will reject 
you, if you essay to cast your sin-burthened 
soul into his compassionate arms. His atone- 
ment is all-sufficient. He saves to the very 
uttermost. Despair not : only come and 
commit your soul to Christ, and salvation is 
yours. 

There is an infinite efficacy in the precious 
blood of Christ, to cleanse you from all sin. 
Blessed be God ! that blood which washes 
* Heb. xii, 2. f Heb. vii, 25. 



IN HIS SUFFERINGS AND DEATH. 53 

away the deepest stains, has been shed; and 
that atonement which expiates the greatest 
guilt, has been made. God now says to us, 
in language the most pathetic, " I have blot- 
ted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, 
and as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; 
for I have redeemed thee."* 

In the contemplation of our salvation, well 
may w T e exclaim with the prophet, " Sing, 
0 ye heavens ; for the Lord hath done it ! 
Shout, ye lower parts of the earth : break 
forth into singing, ye mountains, 0 forest, 
and every tree therein; for the Lord hath 
redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in 
Israel. 5 '! 

Blessed Jesus ! It is from thy death that 
we derive eternal life and blessedness. How 
should our hearts glow w T ith love to thee, 
and sound with the high praises of our God ! 
" I will greatly rejoice in the Lord : my soul 
shall be joyful in my God ; for he hath 
clothed me with the garments of salvation; 
he hath covered me with the robe of righ- 
teousness."! 

Reader, are you deeply interested in the 
* Is. xliv, 29, f Is. xliv. 23, J Is. lxi, 10, 



54 



THE LOVE OF CHRIST, 



atonement and righteousness of Christ? Then 
go forward in your pilgrimage journey with 
joy; leaning upon Jesus, the beloved of your 
soul. "And walk in love, as Christ also hath 
loved us, and given himself for us, an offering 
and a sacrifice to God for a sw T eet-smelling 
savor."* " Christ also loved the church, and 
gave himself for it, that he might sanctify 
and cleanse it with the washing of water by 
the word; that he might present it to himself 
a glorious church, not having spot or wrin- 
kle, or any such thing; but that it should be 
holy and without blemish, "f With their 
robes washed white in the blood of Imma- 
nuel — invested with his spotless, perfect 
righteousness, the saints shall at last be pre- 
sented before God, a faultless church; and 
the redeeming love of Christ constituting 
their unending theme, shall engage their 
enlarged and exalted faculties, and employ 
their ransomed souls in holy meditations 
through the everlasting sabbath of eternity. 

Sinner, resort forthwith to the fountain of 
the Redeemer's blood, while it is yet open. 
Come, without delay: "Wash, and be clean." 
* Eph. v, 2. f Eph. v, 25 - 27 s 



IN HIS SUFFERINGS AND DEATH. 55 

11 The Spirit and the bride say, Come; and 
let him that heareth, say Come; and let him 
that is athirst, come; and whosoever will 7 
let him take the water of life freely. 55 * 

There is a fountain fill'd with blood, 

Drawn from ImmanuePs veins • 
And sinners, plung'd beneath that flood ^ 

Lose all their guilty stains. 

The dying thief rejoic'd to see 

That fountain in his day ; 
And here have I, as vile as he, 

Wash'd all my sins away. 

Dear, dying Lamb, thy precious blood 

Shall never lose its pow'r, 
Till all the ransom'd church of God 

Be sav'd, to sin no more. 

E'er since by faith I saw the stream 

Thy flowing wounds supply, 
Redeeming love has been my theme. 

And shall be till 1 die. 

Then in a nobler, sweeter song, 

I'll sing thy pow'r to save ; 
When this poor lisping, stamm'ring tongue, 

Lies silent in the grave. — Cowper. 



^Rev. xxii, 17* 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE LOVE OF CHRIST CONTEMPLATED. 
<{ And to know the love of Christ.' ? — Ephesiaxs iii, 

On no other subject did the mind of the 
apostle Paul dwell with so much delight, as 
on that of the redeeming love of Christ. 
This was his favorite theme. It was his ar- 
dent desire to exhibit to a lost world the 
grace of the Lord Jesus, which had been 
so abundantly manifested to himself, once a 
great sinner. It was the love of Christ that 
sustained him amidst all his trials, and dis- 
tresses, and persecutions, and enabled him to 
finish a glorious career. 

Neither the threats of the Jews, nor the 
terror of the Romans, could separate him 
from the love of Christ, or in the least 
abate his zeal for spreading the news of sal- 
vation, and the wonders of redeeming love 
through a lost world. 

Writing to the Romans, he boldly ex- 
claims : " Who shall separate us from the 
love of Christ ? Shall tribulation, or dis- 



THE LOVE OF CHRIST CONTEMPLATED. 57 



tress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness^ 
or peril, or sword ? As it is written, For 
thy sake we are killed all the day long; we 
are accounted as sheep for the slaughter* 
Nay, in all these things we are more than 
conquerors, through him that loved us. For 
I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life 5 
nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers 5 
nor things present, nor things to come, nor 
height, nor depth, nor any other creature^ 
shall be able to separate us from the love of 
God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 5 '* 

The same apostle, writing to the Ephe* 
sians, desires and prays that Christ may 
dwell in their hearts by faith, that they be- 
ing rooted and grounded in love, " may be 
able to comprehend with all saints what is 
the breadth, and length, and depth, and 
height ; and to know the love of Christ, 
which passeth knowledge." 

Let us contemplate the love of Christ in 
all its extent, and in all its vastness. When 
did it commence 1 In the past eternity. The 
love of Christ to his people extends from 
* Rom. viii, 35 - 39. 

5 



58 



THE LOVE OF CHRIST 



eternity. Though it was manifested in tirne 3 
yet it existed from eternity. " Then I was 
by him as one brought up with him, and I 
was daily his delight, rejoicing always be- 
fore him; rejoicing in the habitable part of 
his earth, and my delights were with the 
sons of men."* 

Christ says to each of his chosen ones, " I 
have loved thee with an everlasting love : 
therefore, with loving kindness have I drawn 
thee."f 

Oh ! wonderful thought, everlasting love ! 
Who can comprehend the import of these 
w^ords, everlasting love ? Christ loves us, 
and his love is everlasting. Yes, dear be- 
liever, Christ loved you before the world 
was created ; before you had an existence. 
From all eternity he thought upon your lost 
condition by nature ; and oh! how willingly, 
how gladly, he left the throne of glory to 
bring salvation to you. His love never had 
a beginning. " This river of love began to 
flow before the world was; from everlasting, 
from the beginning, or ever the earth was. 
Christ's love to us is as old as the Father's 

* Prov. viii, 30, 31. t Jer. xxxi, 3. 



I 



CONTEMPLATED. 



59 



love to the Son. This river of light began 
to stream from Jesus towards us, before the 
beams poured from the sun ; before the ri- 
vers flowed to the ocean ; before angel loved 
angel, or man loved man : before creatures 
were, Christ loved us. This is a great deep ; 
who can fathom it ? This love passeth 
knowledge."* 

The love of Christ will reach into eter- 
nity; will extend throughout its immeasura- 
ble ages : it has no end. This is the sweet 
declaration of Christ, with regard to his 
love, that " the mountains shall depart, and 
the hills be removed; but my kindness shall 
not depart from thee, neither shall the cove- 
nant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord 
that hath mercy on thee."f 

0, to be among that happy number, who 
will enjoy in heaven the eternal favor of 
Christ's love, which will make eternity it- 
self one joyous unclouded day of everlasting 
light and immortal felicity ! 

Blessed Jesus ! Interest each of us in thy 
unchanging loving-kindness, which is better 
than life. 0, let one ray of thy most won- 

*M'Cheyne. t Is. liv, 10. 



60 



THE LOVE OF CHRIST 



* 



derful love light on our benighted hearts: 
soften them by the manifestation of thy 
grace. 

Of the vastness of the love of Christ, we 
can form no adequate conceptions; much 
less can we, by any power of the understan- 
ding, comprehend it. To use the emphatic 
language of an old divine,* u it is as if a 
child could take the globe of earth and sea 
in his two short arms." The love of Christ 
is like a great ocean, whose depths are un- 
fathomable. There is a height in this love, 
to which no human intelligence can soar; 
a depth which no created mind can penetrate. 

In viewing the love of Christ, there lies a 
wide unbounded prospect before us. The 
mental vision wanders at liberty over this 
illimitable range. The love of Christ is 
circumscribed by no limits; it is bounded 
by no horizon: it is one vast expanse in 
w T hich the soul may lose itself in wonder, 
delight, and admiration. 

The pious M'Cheyne, whom we have 
already quoted, has the following beautiful 
remarks on the love of Christ. " Paul says: 

* Samuel Rutherford. 



CONTEMPLATED. 



61 



6 The love of Christ passeth knowledge.' It 
is like the blue sky into which you may see 
clearly, but the real vastness of which you 
cannot measure. It is like the deep, deep 
sea, into whose bosom you can look a little 
way, but its depths are unfathomable. It 
has a breadth without a bound, length with- 
out end, height without top, and depth 
without bottom. If holy Paul said this, who 
was so deeply taught in divine things; who 
had been in the third heaven, and seen the 
glorified face of Jesus ; how much more 
may we, poor and weak believers, look 
into that love, and say, It passeth know- 
ledge!" 

If we cannot comprehend the love of 
Christ; if we cannot fathom it, let us con- 
template and admire it. 

It was the love of Christ that led him to 
assume human nature, in order that he might 
suffer and die, and thus atone for the sins of 
his people: it was this love that induced 
him to leave the bosom of his Father, and 
the adoration of the angelic host, and to 
sojourn among guilty worthless mortals. 
5* 



62 



THE LOVE OF CHRIST 



It was love that led him to exchange the 
throne of glory for the manger of Bethlehem 
and the cross of Calvary. It was love that 
made his whole life, from the manger to the 
cross, one of grief and sorrow. Love made 
him "a man of sorrows, and acquainted with 
grief. 53 

Well might the blessed Jesus have ex- 
claimed " Behold and see if there be any 
sorrow like unto my sorrow, wherewith the 
Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his 
fierce anger."* It was love that made him 
suffer and die for sinners. Yes, love led him 
to the gloomy garden of Gethsemane; love 
drew him to the judgment hall; love nailed 
him to the cross; and love enabled him to 
exclaim with his expiring breath, " It is 
finished." 

" Greater love hath no man than this." 
The love of Christ is wonderful love: it is 
surpassing, boundless love. Reader, look 
at that amazing love which Christ has mani- 
fested to sinners; and may you be able to 
comprehend with all saints what is its 
breadth, and length, and depth, and height! 
*Lam. i, 12. 



CONTEMPLATED. 



63 



When you intently contemplate that re- 
deeming love which brought Christ from his 
throne, to live and suffer, and die for sin- 
ners, does not your breast heave with emo- 
tions of gratitude; does not your soul rise in 
adoration, and is it not lost in wonder, love, 
and praise? 

Have you a heart so cold as not to be 
warmed by such unbounded love; a heart 
so hard as not to be softened by such grace 
as his here set before the eyes of a wonder- 
ing world? 

No feeble mortal can express the vastness 
of the love of Christ to sinners ! It is a mys- 
tery which eternity itself will never fully 
unravel. " God only knows the love of 
God." We know that it is great love, and 
that it is manifested to sinners, but it is love 
too boundless for the most capacious mind to 
grasp. None can comprehend its vastness: 
none can measure its immensity; language 
fails to describe it ; human thought cannot 
fathom it ; time cannot disclose its depths; 
and vast eternity itself will roll away in its 
continual and delightful contemplation. 



64 



THE LOVE OF CHRIST 



How transcendent is the love of Christ! 
It passeth knowledge. 

0 my soul, art thou not lost in wonder and 
admiration when thou contemplatest this 
divine love — the love of Jesus ? And love so 
amazing, love so boundless as the love of 
Christ, should call forth all our loftiest 
strains of praise, and exercise our highest 
powers of mind in devout contemplations. 
It should be the constant theme of our medi- 
tation here, till we come to possess its full 
and eternal enjoyment in that world where 
all is love. And if we possess the love of 
Christ on earth, it will cheer our hearts, 
brighten our prospects, alleviate our sorrows, 
mitigate our afflictions, and emit a ray of 
hope that will enable us to "rejoice with joy 
unspeakable and full of glory/* even in this 
vale of tears. 

To be the object of Christ's love is desira- 
ble, and it is a blessed attainment to know 
that you enjoy it; to say with Paul, "I am 
crucified with Christ: nevertheless, I live; 
yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the 
life which I now live in the flesh, I live by 



CONTEMPLATED, 



65 



the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, 
and gave himself for me.*' 5 There is nothing 
so much calculated to drive from sin, or 
excite to good works, as one ray of the love 
of Christ darting into the sinner's heart: this 
will more effectually melt it, than all the 
terrors of the law, or the thunders of Sinai, 

The love of Christ fills the soul with im~ 
mortal joys. There is nothing so reviving 
to the believer, as the sweet thought of 
Christ's love to him. 

There is no subject stored with such an 
exuberance of divine consolation, and heaven- 
ly joy, as that of redeeming love — the love 
of the Son of God to a lost w T orld. Every 
other subject loses its lustre when contrasted 
with this sublime, soul-reviving theme ; 
and nothing tends so effectually to expand, 
elevate, and purify the soul, as that faith 
"which worketh by love." And what do 
we not owe to the love of Christ? All the 
comforts and happiness of life, and all the 
joys of a blissful eternity flow from this love. 

You should meditate much upon the love 
of Christ; and may that love ever glow 
*Gal. ii, 20. 



66 



THE LOVE OF CHRIST 



within you, and be like a perpetual fire burn- 
ing upon the altar of your heart. "The love 
of Christ is a subject too lofty for a seraph's 
harp. The soul, renewed by the spirit, is 
often incapable of expressing the sublime 
feelings which pass through the mind, when 
thinking on this glorious subject. The love 
of Christ conveys a joy to the believer's 
heart, which is unspeakable and full of 
glory. The tongue cannot express the de- 
light of heart which arises from the manifes- 
tation of this ]ove. 

"The joy of harvest, the joy of the bride- 
groom on his wedding day; the joy of 
victory, and taking great spoils from the 
enemy; the joy of a poor man in finding 
great treasures; all these are not worthy to 
be compared with the joy and exultation of 
the believer's heart, on the manifestation of 
this love to his soul."* 

O, what does the blessed Jesus deserve for 
such unbounded love to sinners! Ail our 
hearts should be devoted to his service, and 
all our affections should be placed upon him. 
We should love him, because he first loved 
* Vincent. 



CONTEMPLATED. 



67 



us. " Whom having not seen, ye love; in 
whom, though now ye see him not, yet 
believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable 
and full of glory."* 0 to be made like the 
adorable Redeemer, and to praise him 
throughout the countless ages of eternity, 
for the wonders of his redeeming love ! 
May this be the desire of every reader; and 
may each be enabled to exclaim with the 
Psalmist, "Whom have I in heaven but 
thee? and there is none upon earth that I 
desire besides thee!"f 

u One there is, above all others, 
Well deserves the name of Friend : 
His is love beyond a brother's ; 
Costly, free, and knows no end. 
They who once his kindness prove, 
Find it everlasting love! 

Which of all our friends to save us, 
Could or would have shed their blood? 
But our Jesus died to have us 
Reconciled, in him to God; 
This was boundless love indeed ! 
Jesus is a friend in need." — Newtok. 



*1 Pet. i, 8. fPs.lxxiii, 25. 



CHAPTER V. 



THE LOVE OF CHRIST IN THE BE STOW ME NT Of 
GRACE j IN THE GIFT OF HIS WORD, AND IN 
THE INSTITUTION OF DIVINE ORDINANCES. 

"The Lord will give grace." — Psalm lxxxiv, 11. 
"I have given them thy word." — John xvii, 14. 
"He gave some, apostles ; and some, prophets ; and some, evan- 
gelists; and some, pastors and teachers." — Eph. iv. 11, 12. 

" The Lord will give grace. 55 * But will 
he give grace to sinners ? Yes, to great 
sinners. Paul was the chief of sinners, and 
yet to him was the grace of the Lord Jesus 
manifested. He asserts, concerning himself* 
that a The grace of our Lord was exceeding 
abundant, wnth faith and love which is in 
Christ Jesus."f 

Oh ! what surpassing, boundless love, has 
Christ manifested to sinners ! And on mil- 
lions of Adam's lost and guilty race, who 
were once as vile as sin could make them, 
has he in his great love bestowed his bound- 
less grace. It is his love that makes sin- 
* Psalm lxxxiv, 11. 1 1 Tim. i, 14. 



THE LOVE OF CHRIST. 



69 



Hers saints, and distinguishes them from the 
rest of mankind; and every sinner that will 
enter heaven's gates, must first feel the con- 
straining influence of this love. 0, how 
sweet are the words, a By grace (without 
merit) ye are saved! " Here is an overflow- 
ing fountain of divine consolation for guilty 
sinners. What wonderful love is here mani- 
fested to us! 

66 God, who is rich in mercy, for his great 
love wherewith he loved us, even when we 
were dead in sins, hath quickened us to- 
gether with Christ (by grace ye are saved); 
and hath raised us up together, and made us 
sit together in heavenly places, in Christ 
Jesus; that in the ages to come, he might 
shew the exceeding riches of his grace in 
his kindness towards us, through Christ 
Jesus. 55 * 

* Eph. ii, 4-7. 46 Most amazingly rich mercy! 
most astonishingly great love! When dead in sins, 
blinded by pride to our wretchedness, and full of enmity 
against God and goodness, even then he loved us with 
great love, and of rich mercy quickened us. 0 look at, 
live, and feed upon this rich mercy and great love, 
Oh ! to grace what mighty debtors." — Mason. 
6 



70 



THE LOV£ OF CHRIST, 



This grace is greatly celebrated by 
prophets, and apostles, and saints. Paul 
cries, " By the grace of God, I am what I 
am." The Psalmist exclaims, "How excel- 
lent is thy loving-kindness, 0 God ! therefore 
the children of men put their trust under the 
shadow of thy wings." A good man says, 
" Nothing but free grace makes any differ- 
ence between me and the vilest of sinners." 
One says, "I know no sweeter way to 
heaven, than through free grace and hard 
trials together; and where grace is, hard 
trials are seldom wanting." Another says, 
"Two things I chiefly know : one is, that I 
am a great sinner ; the other is, that Jesus 
Christ is a great Saviour. 0 the riches of 
divine grace!" 

When Christ shall bring forth the head- 
stone of his living, glorious temple, all the 
redeemed shall shout "Grace, grace, unto 
it."* Grace is glory begun, glory is grace 
perfected. Grace is the first degree of glory. 
The Lord will give grace and glory too. 
0 what precious w r ords! who can weigh 
their import ? 

* Zech. iv, 7, 



IN THE BESTOWMENT OF GRACE. 71 

"Amazing grace! (how sweet the sound!) 
That saved a wretch like me ! 
I once was lost, but now am found ; 
Was blind, but now I see. 

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, 
And grace my fears relieved : 
How precious did that grace appear, 
The hour I first believed ! 

Thro' many dangers, toils, and snares, 
I have already come : 
'Tis grace has brought me safe thus far, 
And grace will lead me home. 

The Lord has promised good to me, 
His word my hope secures ; 
He will my shield and portion be, 
As long as life endures. 

Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail, 
And mortal life shall cease, 
I shall possess within the vail 
A life of joy and peace. 

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow, 
The sun forbear to shine 5 
But God, who called me here below, 
Will be for ever mine." — Newton. 

As soon as sinners are brought into a 
state of grace, they have need of continual 
spiritual instruction; and such instruction. 



72 



THE LOVE OF CHRIST, 



Christ in his love has afforded them. He 
has given them his word. He has favored 
them with the means of grace, and with the 
institution of divine ordinances. In the gift 
of his word, Christ has manifested great 
love to his people. Whilst journeying 
through this bleak, arid, wilderness world, 
to mansions of glory, he refreshes their souls 
with the bread of life, and with the living 
waters of salvation. The word of God, and 
the ordinances of his grace, afford them 
abundant provision by the way. 

0, what transcendent love has the blessed 
Jesus manifested in giving us this unspeak- 
ably precious treasure, the holy Scriptures, 
in which are contained such inexhaustible 
stores of rich grace. The w T hole Bible is an 
epistle of love, unspeakable love, to perish- 
ing sinners. It unfolds the way of salvation; 
it proclaims a risen, glorified Saviour; it 
points to the Lamb of God ; it is full of Christ, 
full of immortal love; it leads the sinner to 
glory. 0 then, may this precious treasure, 
this blessed volume be yours, be mine, to 
guide us through this dark, bewildering scene 



IN THE GIFT OF HIS WORD. 



73 



of sin and sorrow, to a brighter world 
above. 6k Thy word," says the psalmist, 66 is 
a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my 
path."* 

How t highly has the word of God been 
prized by every christian pilgrim, by every 
traveller to Zion: it was David's comfort in 
his affliction; it was his song in the house of 
his pilgrimage. " This is my comfort in my 
affliction, for thy word hath quickened me." 
" Thy statutes have been my songs in the 
house of my pilgrimage."f 

How precious was the holy law of God, 
to this eminent saint, Israel's sacred bard! 
Hear him exclaim, " 0, how I love thy 
law! it is my meditation all the day." "Thy 
testimonies have I taken as a heritage for 
ever, for they are the rejoicing of my heart." 
" Therefore I love thy commandments above 
gold; yea, above fine gold." "How sweet 
are thy words unto my taste ! yea, sweeter 
than honey to my mouth." " Consider how 
I love thy precepts." " My soul hath kept thy 
testimonies, and I love them exceedingly."^ 
* Psalm cxix, 105. t Psalm cxix, 50, 54. t Psalm cxix. 
6 



74 



THE LOVE OF CHRIST, 



Reader, may you also love the word of 
God, and may it ever be your greatest 
delight to read its sacred pages. You can- 
not prize this blessed book sufficiently. 0, 
blessed Jesus, what do we not owe thee for 
the gift of this precious volume! 

"Let everlasting thanks be thine. 
For such a bright display, 
As makes a world of darkness shine 
With beams of heavenly day. 

My soul rejoices to pursue 

The steps of him I love ; 

Till glory breaks upon my view, 

In brighter worlds above." — Cowper. 

In his love, Christ " has given unto us 
exceeding great and precious promises."* 
May you ever contemplate these " precious 
promises;" and may your prayer be, " Open 
thou mine eyes, that I may behold won- 
drous things out of thy law." If you are a 
believer, you will love and value the word 
of God; you will meditate much on it. It 
is true of a righteous man, that " his delight 
is in the law of the Lord, and in his law 
* 2 Peter i, 4. 



IN THE GIFT OF HIS WORD. 75 

doth he meditate day and night.' 5 * On 
a dying bed, you will not regret having 
spent too much time in the study of the 
Scriptures, but you may lament that you 
had not devoted more of your time to the 
diligent perusal of the divine pages. When 
Salmasius, one of the most consummate 
scholars of his age, came to die, he ex- 
claimed, " 0 ! I have lost a world of time! 
time, the most precious thing in the world! 
whereof had I but one year more, I would 
spend it reading David's Psalms and Paul's 
Epistles." The immortal John Locke, when 
asked which was the surest way for a young 
man to attain a knowledge of the christian 
religion, replied, " Let him study the Holy 
Scriptures, especially the New Testament: 
therein are contained the words of eternal 
life; it has God for its author, salvation for 
its end, and truth, without any mixture of 
error, for its matter." 

It is from the bible that we obtain that 
knowledge, which will guide us to the 
abodes of immortality, which will lead us to 
glory and honor that will endure when sun 
* Psalm i, 2, 



76 



THE LOVE OF CHRIST, 



and stars have lost their light. O, then 
study the word of God. "It embodies all/* 
says an eloquent living writer, ts that a 
christian in this pilgrimage can need: it is 
his only chart through this tempestuous life; 
in trouble, it is his consolation; in pro- 
sperity, his monitor; in difficulty, his guide; 
amid the darkness of death, and while de- 
scending into the shadowy valley, it is the 
day-star that illuminates his path, makes his 
dying eye bright with hope, and cheers his 
soul with the prospect of immortal glory."* 
Always remember the divine admonition 
of our blessed Saviour, "Search the scrip- 
tures, for in them ye think ye have eternal 
life, and they are they which testify of 
me."f 

And "Let the word of Christ dwell in 
you richly in all wisdom."! Let the lan- 
guage of your heart ever be, 

"May this blest volume ever lie 
Close to my heart, and near mine eye ; 
Till life's last hour my soul engage, 
And be my chosen heritage." 

*Rev. Dr. Waterbury. t John v, 39. 

, t Col, iii, 16. 



IN THE GIFT OF HIS WORD. 



77 



In the institution of the ordinances of 
grace, Christ has manifested the tenderest 
love and concern for the spiritual welfare of 
his people while in this world. In his love, 
^he gave some, apostles; and some, pro- 
phets; and some, evangelists; and some, 
pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of 
the saints, for the edifying of the body of 
Christ."* 

A preached gospel is the gift of Christ— 
a gift of love to a lost world. The Redeem- 
er's last command, was, "Go ye into all the 
world, and preach the gospel to every 
creature."f This blessed gospel, Christ in 
his love has sent to us. The lines are fallen 
unto us in pleasant places; yea, we have a 
goodly heritage.^ 

Blessed be God ! that the glad tidings of 
life and salvation, through a crucified 
Redeemer, have reached our ears. 0, happy 
they, whose lot is cast within the joyful 
sound of the glorious gospel ! " Blessed is 
the people that know the joyful sound; they 
shall walk, 0 Lord, in the light of thy 

*Eph. iv, U, 12. ( Mark xvi, 15. 

| Psalm xvi, 6. 



78 



THE LOVE OF CHRIST, 



countenance. 9 '* "Blessed are they that dwell 
in thy house; they will be still praising 
thee."f What a blessed privilege is it, that 
we enjoy, of entering into the house of God, 
with voices of joy and praise! Let us prize 
this privilege, and let us love to dwell in the 
house of God. How ardently did David love 
the sanctuary of God! "Lord, I have loved 
the habitation of thy house, and the place 
where thine honor dwelleth." J "One thing 
have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek 
after; that I may dwell in the house of the 
Lord all the days of my life, ta behold the 
beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his 
temple."§ To David, no spot on earth was 
so dear as Zion's holy hill; no service so 
sweet as that of divine worship. Reader! 
how T highly should you, who live amidst the 
meridian splendor of Christianity, prize the 
means of grace which you enjoy! With the 
Psalmist may you exclaim from the heart, 
"How amiable are thy tabernacles, 0 Lord 
of hosts! a day in thy courts is better than a 
thousand. I had rather be a door-keeper in 

* Psalm lxxxix, 15. f Psalm lxxxiv, 4. 
t Psalm xxvi, 8. § Psalm xxvii, 4. 



IN INSTITUTING DIVINE ORDINANCES. 79 

the house of my God, than to dwell in the 
tents of wickedness. 55 * 

In the institution of the sacramental sup- 
per, Christ has afforded a grand exhibition of 
love. In his love, yea in his dying love, he 
instituted it. The Lord's supper is the 
sweetest of all ordinances; it is, emphatical- 
ly, a feast of love. The very banner that 
Christ unfurls over the head of every believ- 
ing communicant, is love, love written in 
such legible characters that he who runs 
may read. "He brought me to the banquet- 
ing house, and his banner over me was 
love."f With what joy does the redeemed 
sinner approach this sacred table, that he 
may commemorate the dying love of his 
blessed Saviour! His language is, "I sat 
down under his shadow with great delight, 
and his fruit was sweet to my taste."J 

This ordinance, exhibiting as it does a 
crucified Saviour, vividly displays the vast- 
ness of redeeming love and the riches of 
divine grace. A loving Saviour has spread 
this table for us, and he cries, "Eat, 0 

* Psalm lxxxiv, 1, 10. t Cant, ii, 4. 

t Cant, ii, 3, 



80 



THE LOVE OF CHRIST., 



friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O 
beloved."* Oh! what blessings are here 
provided for dying sinners; the bread of 
life, the waters of salvation, remission of 
sins; yea, an abundant pardon, peace with 
Gody a meetness for heaven. 

Reader, come and show your love to 
Christ, at this feast of love; remember, and 
obey his dying injunction, "This do in re- 
membrance of me." Can you lay any claim 
to the name of a christian, while you live in 
the utter neglect of this duty? Surely not. 
The love of Christ should constrain you to 
observe it. Surely it becomes a ransomed 
captive, a captive bought at such an inesti- 
mable price, to testify his obligations to his 
loving Redeemer! "Come, for all things are 
now ready."f Come to the Lord's table y 
and behold the most amazing love manifest- 
ed to you, the infinite love of the dying Son 
of God! 

0 Blessed Jesus! may it be our delight, 
on earth to confess and own thee as our 
divine Redeemer before men, and to com- 
memorate thy dying love in this sweet 
*Cant. 7,1, t Luke xiv, 17. 



IN INSTITUTING DIVINE ORDINANCES. 81 

ordinance. Refreshed by that spiritual pro- 
vision, which thou hast laid up for us in the 
gospel of thy grace, may we press onward 
in our pilgrimage journey heavenward; and 
at last, may we realize the joys of a blessed 
home in the world of glory. 

Dear believer, we shall soon exchange 
the table below for the table above. Jesus, 
our dear Redeemer, himself shall be at the 
head of that table, and shall feed us, and 
lead us unto living fountains of waters, and 
God shall wipe away all tears from our 
eyes. Till then, let us endeavor to be 
profited by all those means of grace, with 
which Christ in his love has favored us. 
"Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of 
our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him 
be glory both now and for ever. Amen. 55 * 



*2 Pet ill, 18, 

7 



CHAPTER VL 



THE LOVE OF CHRIST IN AFFLICTIONS', 

"Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every 
son whom he receiveth. ,J — Heb. xii, 6. 

"Although affliction cometh not forth of the dust, neither doth 
trouble spring out of the ground ; yet man is born unto trouble as 
x ke sparks fly upward."— Job v, 6, 7. 

Affliction comes upon all. None are exempt 
from the sufferings incident to our fallen 
nature. The young, the old, the rich and 
the poor, alike feel the withering touch of 
affliction and of sorrow. Disease invades 
the strongest constitution, and affliction pro- 
strates the mightiest energy. Often those 
in the prime and vigor of life are laid down 
on the bed of sickness, and made to feel that 
they are dying creatures. How true it is, 
that u man that is born of a woman is of few 
days, and full of trouble ! " * 

The children of God are not exempted 
from the afflictions of this life; but it is their 
blessed consolation to know that they have a 
Friend to sympathise with them in all their 
* Job xiv, 1. 



LOVE OF CHRIST IN AFFLICTIONS. |§ 83 

sorrows and sufferings, while in this mortal 
state. Yes, Jesus is that friend, who watches 
over their sick beds, and consoles their de- 
sponding spirits amid the frailty of sinking 
nature. Oh I how often does the blessed 
Jesus wonderfully manifest his love to his 
afflicted ones! How often does he whisper 
words of peace and love and consolation in 
their ears! How often, on the manifestation 
of his love, do their souls overflow with joy, 
even when their bodies are racked with se- 
vere pain ! 

Christ will always make that promise 
good, " As thy days, so shall thy strength 
be;" and amidst all our trials and afflictions 
here, we may rely w T ith unshaken confidence 
on the promises of our loving Redeemer, who 
will not forsake us in the hour of extremity. 
Then he will manifest his love to us, and 
display the riches of his grace. In all our 
trials, his promise runs thus : " My grace is 
sufficient for thee, for my strength is made 
perfect in weakness."* 

All the afflictions of the children of God 
are designed for their good. They come 
*2 Cor. xii, 9. 



84 



THE LOVE OP CHRIST, 



from a kind heavenly Father, from a God of 
love; and one of their designs is, the purifi- 
cation and sanctification of believers* " I 
will turn my hand upon thee, and purely 
purge away thy dross, and take away all thy 
tin."* " By this, therefore, shall all the in- 
iquity of Jacob be purged; and this is all 
the fruit to take away his sin."f " Some of 
them of understanding shall fall, to try them, 
and to purge, and to make them white, even 
to the time of the end."! " Many shall be 
purified, and made white, and tried."|| 

Afflictions make us meet for glory : they 
enable us to obtain a correct view of the 
vanity of terrestrial happiness; they tend, 
through grace, to fix our souls on Him, in 
whom alone we can find true happiness and 
immortal joys. Happy sickness, that leads 
the soul to Jesus, the only source of blessed-* 
ness ! 

Afflictions, then, promote our spiritual 
welfare, and are ordered for our good. It is 
expressly declared, " that all things work 
together for good, to them that love God, to 

* Is. i, 25. t Is. xxvii, 9. jDa». xi, 35. 

|| Dan. xii, 10. 



IN AFFLICTIONS. 



85 



them who are the called according to his 
purpose; " # and afflictions are among the 

all things " that are beneficial to the pre- 
sent and eternal welfare and happiness of 
God's children. Afflicted believer, Christ 
says to you, 44 What I do, thou knowest not 
now; but thou shalt know hereafter."f You 
will soon know the merciful design, which 
Christ had in afflicting you. In the light of 
eternity, you will look back and say that he 
has brought you by a way that is right. 

In their afflictions here, Christ manifests 
most tender love to believers : he renews 
their fainting souls, by the manifestation of 
his love and the revelation of his grace; he 
strengthens them inwardly. " In the day 
when I cried, thou answeredst me, and 
strengthenedst me with strength in my soul." J 

It was the manifestation of the love and 
grace of the Lord Jesus, that supported the 
Apostle Paul amidst all his afflictions. " For 
which cause," says he, " we faint not; but 
though our outward man perish, yet the in- 
ward man is renewed day by day. For our 
* Rom. viii, 28. t John xiii, 7. t Ps. cxxxviii, 3, 

7* 



86 



THE LOVE OF CHRIST, 



light affliction, which is but for a moment, 
worketh for us a far more exceeding and 
eternal weight of glory; while we look not 
at the things which are seen, but at the things 
which are not seen: for the things which are 
seen are temporal, but the things which are 
not seen are eternal.' 5 * 

0, how greatly will our light afflictions 
and trials here, add to the weight of that 
crown of glory, which we shall wear here- 
after! How will they sweeten that eternal 
rest which remaineth for the people of God, 
our happy home in heaven ! 

Were the sun of prosperity always to 
shine upon us, we would soon forget our 
Father's house; our heritage above. Christ 
sends us afflictions to tell us that this is not 
our rest, that our blessed home is far above 
this scene of perishing mortality. Here, we 
must be fitted for glory; and Christ says to 
his followers, "In the world ye shall have 
tribulation."! it is through much tribulation 
that we must enter into the kingdom of God. 
Of that happy throng who stand around 
the throne of the Eternal, it is said, "These 
* 2 Cor. iv, 1 6 18. t John xvi, 33. 



IN AFFLICTIONS. 



87 



are they which came out of great tribula- 
tion^ and have washed their robes, and 
made them white in th£ blood of the 
Lamb."* 

The way to Mount Zion lies through the 
valley of Baca. The road to glory is a rough 
one. Believers may exclaim w T ith the 
Psalmist, "Thou, 0 God, hast proved us: 
thou hast tried us, as silver is tried. Thou 
broughtest us into the net; thou laidest afflic- 
tion upon our loins; thou hast caused men 
to ride over our heads; we went through 
fire and water ; but thou broughtest us out 
into a wealthy place/'f But when we come 
to that wealthy place, even to the heavenly 
Canaan, we will find that it will make 
amends for all our momentary afflictions on 
earth; that one hour with Christ in glory, 
will make us forget a life-time of suffering. 

"Tho 1 rough and thorny be the road, 
It leads thee home, apace, to God: 
Then count thy present trials small, 
For heaven will make amends for all." 

Even now, when we are travelling 
through this vale of tears to mansions of 
* Rev. vii, 14. f Psalm lxvi, 10-12, 



88 



THE LOVE OF CHKIST, 



glory, we have our comforts and enjoyments. 
The love of Christ sweetens every afflic- 
tion; turns the darkest night of adversity 
into the light of day, and the saddest night 
of weeping into the morning of joy. Come 
afflictions, come trials, come whatever may, 
we are assured that all things shall work 
together for our good. 

Reader, are you afflicted? Is it sanctified 
to you? If so, look upon it as an evidence of 
Christ's love. Let it ever be remembered, 
that "Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, 
and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth."* 
And again, "Whom the Lord loveth he coi- 
recteth, even as a father the son in w T hom he 
delighteth."f The Lord afflicts his people, 
because he loves them. "As many as I love," 
says Christ, " I rebuke and chasten."J He 
does it "for our profit, that we might be par- 
takers of his holiness." And though now, 
"No chastening for the present seemeth to 
be joyous, but grievous; nevertheless, after- 
ward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of 
righteousness unto them which are exercised 

*Heb. xii, 6. jProv. iii, 12. 
I Rev. iii, 19. 



IN AFFLICTION, 



89 



thereby."* Afflictions are often sent to 
arrest the wanderer in his course, and to 
bring him back to God. Many a child of 
God can say with David, who had often 
been tried and made to pass through the 
furnace of affliction, "Before I was afflicted^ 
I went astray; but now have I kept thy 
word. It is good for me that I have been 
afflicted, that I might learn thy statutes, 
I know, 0 Lord, that thy judgments are 
right, and that thou in faithfulness hast 
afflicted me."f 

Afflictions are also designed for the con-* 
version of sinners. Thousands have been 
chosen in the furnace of affliction. Oh ! 
how many saints of God, in every age, can 
witness to the truth of these words: "Be- 
hold, I have refined thee, but not with 
silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of 
affliction." J How many careless sinners, 
under the softening touch of affliction, have 
been brought to Jesus, and have found 
peace in his atoning blood ! How many, 
without the saving knowledge of Christ, 

* Heb. xii, 10, II. f Psalm cxix, 67, 71, 75. 
J Is. xlviil, 10. 



90 



THE LOVE OF CHRIST, 



have been cast on beds of sickness, and 
there made, for the first time, to feel that 
Jesus is precious! Then they enjoyed his 
love, received his grace, and knew by 
experience that the Lord is gracious. Then 
affliction became light, Christ precious, and 
heaven sweet. The manifestation of a 
Saviour's love dispelled every gloom, and 
heavenly light broke in upon their souls. 

In affliction, Christ manifests the tender- 
est love to his people, and then it is that 
they get a glimpse of his matchless perfec- 
tions. He is always near them, and "in all 
their affliction he is afflicted, and the 
angel of his presence saves them."* 

O, how happy are they to whom the love 
of Christ is manifested in affliction; in 
whose hearts the love of God is shed abroad; 
and who are filled with joy unspeakable, 
and full of glory! Such are enabled to say, 
with an experienced apostle, "We glory 
in tribulations also; knowing that tribula- 
tion worketh patience; and patience, ex- 
perience; and experience, hope; and hope 
maketh not ashamed; because the love of 
*Is. lxiii, 9. 



IN AFFLICTION. 



91 



God is shed abroad in our hearts by the 
Holy Ghost which is given unto us."* 

A young lady who had lain on a bed of 
sickness for many months, once declared to 
the writer, that she would rather suffer 
affliction with the people of God, than enjoy 
the pleasures of sin for a season. Whence 
arose this resignation to the will of God, 
amidst extreme sufferings? From the mani- 
festation of Christ's love; from that love 
being shed abroad in her heart 

"How often does Christ manifest his dear- 
est love to his suffering ones, 55 said an emi- 
nent saintf of other days, during her sickness. 
"Blessed be God for all his mercies, and for 
this comfort in my affliction. 0, how many 
mercies I have! I want for nothing. Hither- 
to I can say, the Lord is gracious. He has 
been very merciful to me, in sustaining me 
under all my trials. The Lord brings 
affliction, but it is not because he delights 
to afflict his children ; it is at all times for 
our profit. I can say it has been good for 
me to be afflicted; it has enabled me to 
discern things, which, when 1 was in health, 
* Rom. v, 3 - 5. f Hannah Housman, 



92 



THE LOVE OF CHRIST, 



I could not perceive. It has made me know 
more of the vanity and emptiness of this 
world, and all its delusive pleasures : for at 
best they are but vanity.' 5 

Said an amiable and devoted young 
minister* in his last sickness, " I do not 
consider my circumstances melancholy or 
painful. I am very mercifully dealt with. 
My passage to the tomb is easy. I have 
comparatively little suffering, and I enjoy 
that peace of God which passeth all under- 
standing. I can truly say, that goodness 
and mercy have followed me all my days, 
including these suffering days; and looking 
upwards to that house not made with hands, 
eternal in the heavens, I can also add, 'I 
shall dwell in the house of the Lord for 
ever.' " Thus afflictions work for our good, 
and qualify us for the joys and bliss of 
heaven. 

And now, afflicted reader, remember the 
divine exhortation, "My son, despise not 
thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint 
when thou art rebuked of him."f "Happy 

* Rev. Thomas Rawson Taylor, late of Bradford in 
Yorkshire 

t Heb. xii, 5. 



fflt Affliction. 93 

is the man whom God correcteth; therefore 
despise not thou the chastening of the 
Almighty: for he maketh sore and bindeth 
up ; he woundeth, and his hands make 
whole. 3 '* " If ye endure chastening, God 
dealeth with you as with sons; for what 
son is he whom the father chasteneth not? 
but if ye be without chastisement, whereof 
all are partakers, then are ye bastards and 
not sons."f Dear believer, the time is short 
Your afflictions are nearly over.J 

"Be still j my soul, and know the Lord; 
In meek submission wait his will, 
His presence can true peace afford, 
His power can shield from every ill. 

* Job. v, 17 - 18. t Heb. xii, 7, 8. 

$ "A few more trials ; a few more tears ; a few more 
days of darkness, and we shall be forever with the 
Lord. 4 In this tabernacle we groan, being burdened. 1 
All dark things shall yet be cleared up 5 all sufferings 
healed ; all blanks supplied : and we shall find fullness 
of joy (not one drop wanting) in the smile and pre- 
sence of our God. It is one of the laws of Christ's 
kingdom. 4 We must through much tribulation enter 
into the kingdom of God.' We must not reckon upon 
a smooth road to glory, but it will be a short 
one." — McCheyne. 

8 



94 



THE LOVE OF CHRIST, 



Thy path, is strewed with piercing thorns « 
Each step is gained by arduous fight, 
Yet wait, till hope's bright morning dawns, 
Till darkness changes into light. 

Soon shall the painful conflict cease; 
Soon shall the raging storm be o'er; 
Soon shalt thou reach the realms of peace. 
Where suffering shall be known no more. 

There shall thy joy for ever flow 
In one unbroken stream of bliss ; 
There shalt thou God the Saviour know , 
And feel him thine as thou art his." 

Cleave closely to Jesus; you shall soon 
see him as he his; then your afflictions, and 
trials, and days of mourning will have 
ended; you shall reign with Jesus, and be 
like him. The Lord having now "begun a 
good work in you, w r ill perform it until the 
day of Jesus Christ. 5 '* Sanctified afflic f ions 
are fitting you for heaven. "Blessed is the 
man whom thou chastenest, 0 Lord, and 
teachest him out of thy law ; that thou 
may est give him rest from the days of 
adversity, until the pit be digged for the 
wicked."f 

* Phil, i, 6. t Psalm xciv, 12, 13. 



IN AFFLICTION. 



95 



Reader, choose Christ now, and you may 
rest assured that goodness and mercy shall 
follow you through life, and glory and im- 
mortality crown you at death. You will 
enjoy the love of Christ in health, in sick- 
ness; and when you come to feel your last 
pain, and draw your last breath, you will 
shout forth, "0 death, where is thy sting? 
0 grave, where is thy victory? Thanks be 
to God, which giveth us the victory , 
through our Lord Jesus Christ."* 



*1 Cor. xv, 55, 57, 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE LOVE OF CHRIST, AS MANIFESTED TO HIS 

PEOPLE IN THE HOUR OF DEATH. 

" Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of 
death, I will fear no evil : for thou art with me; thy rod and thy 
staff, they comfort me. ,} — Psalm xxiii, 4. 

"And when the closing scenes prevail, 
When wealth, state, pleasure, all shall fail j 
All that a foolish world admires, 
Or passion craves or pride inspires ; 
At that important hour of need, 
Jesus shall prove a friend indeed : 
His hand shall smooth thy dying bed, 
His arm sustain thy drooping head ; 
And when the painful struggle's o'er, 
And that vain thing, the world, no more — 
He'll hear his humble friend away, 
To rapture and eternal day." 

Reader, it is a solemn truth that you and 
I must die. Death will soon overtake us. 
Before the termination of the present year; 
yea, before the sun shall have again passed 
the horizon, the hand that now writes these 
lines, and the eye that now reads them, may 
both have felt the chill of death. 



THE LOVE OF CHRIST. 



97 



Oh, what is human life ? A vapor ; a 
dream; a tale that is soon told; a feeble 
spark of vitality, emitting its light for one 
moment, and then forever extinguished ! 
" Man that is born of a woman, is of few 
days : he cometh forth like a flower, and is 
cut down; he fleeth also as a shadow, and 
continueth not."* "My days," says Job, 
" are swifter than a weaver's shuttle, and are 
spent without hope 0 remember that my 
life is wind ! " f 

Our continuance on earth is but for a short 
moment. " Our days on the earth are as a 
shadow, and there is none abiding."! "As 
for man, his days are as grass : as a flower 
of the field, so he flourisheth; for the wind 
passeth over it, and it is gone, and the place 
thereof shall know it no more."|| " For what 
is your life? It is even a vapor that appeareth 
for a little time, and then vanisheth away."§ 
Oh, how short, how uncertain is life; but 
how certain is death ! 

* Job xiv, 1,2. 1 1 Chron. xxix, 15. 

f Job vii, 6, 7. || Psalm ciii, 15, 16, 

§ James iv, 14. 

8* 



98 



THE LOVE OF CHRIST, 



How true it is that God will bring us to 
death, and to the house appointed for all 
living.* " It is appointed unto men once to 
die."f Millions have fallen before the ir- 
resistible stroke of death. All mankind are 
dying creatures, and are pressing onward to 
the grave. 

Reflect upon the past history of mortality. 
" Generation after generation," says a beau- 
tiful writer, " have passed away. Time was, 
when they were alive upon the earth, and 
active amid its busy scenes. They had their 
joys and their sorrows. They flitted across 
life's busy stage, and disappeared forever 
behind the curtain of mortality. They have 
gone. The winds of centuries have swept 
over their graves.' 5 

Reader, as it was with them, so it will 
soon be with us. Look at the future. It is 
computed that eight hundred millions con- 
stitute the population of our globe : these, in 
less than a century, will all be lodged in the 
grave. The grave receives alike as its vic- 
tims the inmate of the cottage, and him who 
sits on his throne and sways the sceptre of 
* Job xxx, 23. t Heb. ix, 27, 



IN THE HOUR OF DEATH. 99 

nations. The paths of glory and honor lead 
but to the grave. Here come the nobles with 
their titles, kings with their crowns, and 
scholars with their volumes. Here is the 
home of the mighty hero, who once with his 
steel-clad millions thundered over the field of 
battle, and with an arm of power shook the 
foundations of kingdoms. 

" How populous, how vital is the grave! 
This is creation's melancholy vault." 

0 look at the brevity and vanity of human 
life, and learn a solemn lesson. Though you 
have soared in fame, or have accumulated 
wealth in abundance; though you glory in 
human power, and, like Alexander, could 
ride triumphantly over the ruins of desolated 
nations, yet the time will soon have arrived 
when the feeble tenement of clay shall moul- 
der, leaving its only epitaph upon the crum- 
bling marble; when it may be pronounced, 
over your mortal remains : 

4C How loved, how valued once, avails thee not: 
To whom related, or by whom begot: 
A heap of dust alone remains of thee ; 
'Tis all thou art, and all the great shall be." 



100 



THE LOVE OF CHRIST, 



But death does not annihilate our exis- 
tence. We are immortal beings. Human 
life is but a prelude to an immortal state of 
being. As we close our eyes on the vision- 
ary scenes of time, we open them amid the 
solemn realities of eternity; w r e enter upon 
that life which will never end. To die, then, 
is but to live. 

Oh! how important is it that we should 
become interested in the atonement of 
Christ ; that we may find redemption in his 
blood and forgiveness of sins, that we may 
die in peace. 

All must tread along the dark valley. 
All must cross the Jordan of death. But the 
humble follower of Christ is, through grace, 
enabled to exclaim, as he approaches the 
dreadful precipice that hides the view of 
mortality: "Yea, though I walk through 
the valley of the shadow of death, I will 
fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod 
and thy staff, they comfort me.' 5 * 

Christ's presence is with believers in the 
hour of death; he cheers their departing 
spirits. They have fled for refuge to him, 
* Psalm xxiii, 4 t 



IN THE HOUR OF DEATH. 



101 



and he sustains them in their trying hour. 
Then he is a friend indeed ; a friend that 
sticketh closer than a brother. This love is 
manifested to them: it enables them to shout 
forth triumphantly, in the face of the last 
enemy, "0, death, where is thy sting? 0, 
grave, where is thy victory? The sting of 
death is sin, and the strength of sin is the 
law. But thanks be to God, which giveth 
us the victory, through our Lord Jesus 
Christ. 55 * It is to the believer in Jesus, and 
to him alone, that death comes disarmed of 
his terrors; being only a faithful messenger 
to convey him to his dear Lord and Saviour: 
so that in the prospect of dissolution, he can 
express a desire with Paul, "To depart and 
be with Christ, which is far better. 55 f He 
knows that Christ is his loving friend, that 
he is watching over his dying bed, ready to 
receive his departing spirit, and he can con- 
fidently say with Stephen, "Lord Jesus, 
receive my spirit; 55 J with David, "Into 
thine hand I commit my spirit; thou hast 
redeemed me, 0 Lord God of truth ; 55 § "I 

* 1 Cor. xv, 55 - 57. f Phil, i, 23. 

t Acts vii, 56. § Psalm xxxi, 5. 



102 THE LOVE OF CHRIST, 

will behold thy face in righteousness : I 
will be satisfied, when I awake, with thy 
likeness;"* and with Simeon, "Lord, now 
lettest thou thy servant depart in peace 
according to thy word ; for mine eyes have 
seen thy salvation."! 

Such is the peaceful end of the Christian's 
mortal career. He dies in peace. He 
passes the swellings of Jordan, cheered by 
the Saviour's presence, and animated by the 
manifestation of his love. It is in the trying 
hour of death, when flesh and heart fail, 
that the love of Christ is often amazingly 
manifested to believers. 

It is when the swellings of Jordan come 
almost over the poor believer's soul ; when 
he is ready to sink beneath the boisterous 
waves, that Christ reveals to him his won- 
derful love, which fills his heart with joy; 
which enables him to shout forth joyfully 
upon his bed, and be more than a con- 
queror through Him that loved us. 

"Let the saints be joyful in glory: let 
them sing aloud upon their beds."J "Pre- 
* Psalm xvii, 15. t Luke ii, 29, 30. 

X Psalm cxlix, 5. 



IN THE HOUR OF DEATH. 103 



cious in the sight of the Lord is the death 
of his saints. 5 ' And at that solemn period, 
when the last sands of life are running out, 
when life's last hour is closing, he visits 
them individually, and unfolds the riches of 
his grace, and the wonders of his love. 

He whispers in their ears his gracious 
promises. "Fear not ; for I have redeemed 
thee, I have called thee by thy name: thou 
art mine. When thou passest through the 
waters, I will be with thee; and through 
the rivers, they shall not overflow thee : 
when thou walkest through the fire, thou 
shall not be burnt; neither shall the flame 
kindle upon thee."* 

And they find him faithful to his promises; 
yes, when they tread the verge of Jordan, 
they find him like the high priest of old, 
who bore the ark of the covenant, standing 
in the midst of the waters, that they may 
safely pass through its proud waves to the 
heavenly Canaan, that glorious land of 
promise— the happy home of believers, the 
heaven of eternal rest. "Then are they glad, 
because they be quiet; so he bringeth them 
* Is. xliii, 1, 2. 



J04 THE LOVE OF CHRIST5 

unto their desired haven. 55 * Jesus Christ 
our blessed high priest, himself has passed 
through the Jordan of death. He has dip* 
ped his feet into this stream. He has rolled 
back its swelling waves. He has made a 
safe and easy passage for all his followers. 
Christian, why then are you afraid to die, 
to plunge into this stream, when you see 
the very footprints of your Saviour in the 
bottom? 

"Who is he that condemneth? Jl is Christ 
that died. ? 'f His eyes have been closed in 
death. 0, believer! Christ has been laid in 
the cold and silent grave before you. He 
has felt the chill of death. But he has re- 
moved its sting. Through death, he has 
destroyed him that had the power of it. 
Fear not, death is a vanquished foe. Christ 
says concerning his people, " I will ransom 
them from the power of the grave. I will 
redeem them from death : 0 death ! I will 
be thy plague; 0 grave! I will be thy des- 
truction.'^ Christian, death can not hurt 
you. It is but a sure step into glory. Are 
* Psalm cvii, 30. f Rom. viii, 34. 

t Hosea, xiii, 14. 



IN THE HOUR OF DEATH. 



105 



you in bondage through the fear of death? 
Christ has delivered you from this bondage. 
"Forasmuch then as the children are parta- 
kers of flesh and blood, he also himself 
likewise took part of the same; that through 
death he might destroy him that had the 
power of death, that is, the devil ; and de- 
liver them, who, through fear of death, were 
all their life-time subject to bondage. 5 ' # 
Thus, the children of God are safely con- 
ducted through death to mansions of glory, 
and awake amid the splendors of an immor- 
tal day. How happy they, who, when 
walking "through the valley of the shadow 
of death/' find that Jesus is their friend and 
companion. 

u How glorious he ! how happy they, 
In such a glorious friend ! 
Whose love secures them all the way, 
And crowns them at the end." 

Thus while the believer is standing on the 
verge of the grave, and looking back on his 
past life, his past conflicts, his earthly pil- 
grimage, he can exclaim in the language of 
*Heb ii, 14, 15, 

9 



106 



THE LOVE OF CHRtST, 



the Apostle Paul, "I have fought a good 
fight, I have finished my course, I have kept 
the faith;" and as he looks forward into a 
vast eternity, and sees the rich rewards that 
are shortly to be his, the kingdom that he 
is going to possess, the dazzling crown of 
glory that is soon to be placed upon his 
brow, he triumphantly adds, "Henceforth 
there is laid up for me a crown of righteous- 
ness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, 
shall give me at that day, and not to me 
only, but unto all them also that love his 
appearing." At last, he hears that happy 
approbation, and joyful invitation, "Well 
done, good and faithful servant, enter thou 
into the joy of thy Lord."* 

The solemn scene closes. The dark valley 
is passed. Jordan is crossed. No more 
struggles. No more pain. No more tears of 
sorrow, and affliction. No more death. "He 
will swallow up death in victory; and the 
Lord God will wipe away tears from off all 
faces."f The believer is "absent from the 
body, and present with the Lord." In the 
Saviour's perfect love, he rests, and finds his 
*Matth. xxv, 23. t Is. xxv, 8. 



IN THE HOUR OF DEATH. 



107 



eternity of joy. In his dying moments he 
could say, "God will redeem my soul from 
the power of the grave; for he shall receive 
me." "For this God is our God, for ever 
and ever; he will be our guide, even unto 
death." And he has experienced a happy 
realization of these promises. That Saviour 
who loved him in life, also manifests his 
love to him in the hour of death. His love 
is abiding, it is not subject to mutation; it 
knows no change. "Having loved his own 
which were in the world, he loved them 
unto the end."* 

As the believer's mortal career is about 
to terminate, the Saviour stands by him, 
and encircles him with the arms of his love. 
He sheds abroad his love in the believer's 
heart. He sustains him amid the agonies 
of dissolving nature. He strengthens him 
by his grace. The dying Christian cries, 
"My flesh and my heart taileth; but God is 
the strength of my heart, and my portion 
for ever."f "For which cause we faint not; 
but though our outward man perish, yet the 
inward man is renewed day by day."| 
*John xiii, I. f Ps. Ixxiii, 26. t 2 Cor, iv, 16 3 



108 



THE LOVE OF CHRIST, 



Thus he finishes his earthly course with 
joy. His end is peace. "Mark the perfect 
man, and behold the upright; for the end of 
that man is peace. 55 * With him all is calm, 
and peaceful. The heavens are serene. The 
thunders of the law are hushed. Calvary is 
in his eye. Around him all is sprinkled 
with atoning blood. No wonder, then, that 
he should die in peace; for. "being justified 
by faith 55 he has "peace with God, through 
our Lord Jesus Christ. 55 He has obtained 
the victory over death, the last enemy. 
Hence, many a dying Christian has been 
able to say, with Dr. Goodwin, "Is this 
dying ? Is this the enemy that dismayed 
me so long, now appearing so harmless, 
and even pleasant?' 5 ; 

Not so with the end of the wicked. To 
him, death is terrible; the grave, gloomy; 
and eternity, dark. " The wicked is driven 
away in his wickedness; but the righteous 
hath hope in his death. 55 f The death-bed 
of the Christian is a glorious, happy place. 

u The chamber where the good man meets his fate, 
Is privileged beyond the common walk of virtuous life, 
Quite on the verge of heaven." 

*Ps. xxxvii, 37. f Prov. xiv, 32. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



THE LOVE OF CHRIST IN THE HOUR OF DEATH 
(continued): THE CLOUD OF WITNESSES. 

"Seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud 
of witnesses.' ' — Heb. xii, 1. 

A great many delightful records of the 
death-bed scenes of martyrs, ministers of 
Jesus Christ, and private christians, who 
have enjoyed the presence of Christ in a 
dying hour, who have felt his love manifest- 
ed to them, and have received his consola- 
tions, might be adduced to corroborate the 
assertions we have already made, and to 
confirm the truth, that Christ does thus 
manifest his love to dying believers. We 
shall introduce the following: 

1. Lambert, a martyr under Henry VIII, 
while he was cruelly mangled by the 
soldier's halberts, and consuming in a slow 
fire, raised his burning hands amid the 
flames, and, with a distinct voice, exclaimed, 
"None but Christ; none but Christ!" 
9* 



J 10 THE LOVE OF CHRIST, 

2. Lawrence Saunders, suffered martyr- 
dom under the "bloody Queen Mary/' He 
kissed the stake at which he was bound, and 
cried aloud, "Welcome the cross of Christ! 
Welcome the cross of Christ ! Welcome life 
everlasting!" 

3. John Knox, the Scottish Reformer's 
dying words, were, "Come, Lord Jesus, 
sweet Jesus! into thy hands I commend my 
spirit." Again he said, "I have tasted of 
the heavenly joys where presently I shall 
be ! Now, for the last time, I commit soul, 
body, and spirit into his hands." Uttering a 
deep sigh, he said, "Now it is come!" His 
attendant desired him to give his friends a 
sign that he died in peace. On this he 
waved his hand, and uttering two deep 
sighs, he fell asleep in Jesus. 

4. John Welch, the son-in-law of John 
Knox, was one of the most eminent mini- 
sters that the Church of Scotland ever pro- 
duced. He died in great joy. On his death- 
bed, he seemed to feel himself on the very 
threshold of glory : he was filled and over- 
powered with the sensible manifestations of 



IN THE HOUR OF DEATH. Ill 

God's love and glory. His last words were 
ottered in an ecstasy of joy : " It is enough, 

0 Lord/ it is now enough : hold thy hand; 
thy servant is a clay vessel, and can hold no 
more! " 

5. Samuel Rutherford, professor of divinity 
in the University ol St. Andrew's, was one 
of the most resplendent lights that ever rose 
in Scotland. He died a triumphant death. 
In his last moments, he was favored with a 
most wonderful manifestation of Christ's love. 
He felt that Christ was with him, and that 
he manifested his grace to him; and he was, 
through that manifested love and grace, 
enabled to exclaim with his dying breath, 
€C There is none like Christ. I feel, I feel, 

1 believe, I joy, I rejoice, I feed on manna! 
My eyes shall see my Redeemer, and I shall 
be ever with him ! And what would you 
more? I have been a sinful man; but I 
stand at the best pass that ever a man did. 
Christ is mine, and I am his ! Glory, glory 
to my Creator and Redeemer forever ! Glory 
shines in Immanuel's land ! 0 for arms to 
embrace him ! 0 for a well-tuned harp." 



112 THE LOVE OF CHRIST, 

He continued exulting in God his Saviour 
to the last, as one in full vision of joy and 
glory. At length he entered into the joy of 
his Lord. 

u In vain my fancy strives to paint 

The moment after death ; 
The glories that surround the saints, 

When yielding up their breath. 

One gentle sigh their fetters breaks : 
We scarce can say 1 They're gone,' 

Before the willing spirit takes 
Her mansion near the throne." 

6. Rev. James Durham, on his dying bed, 
was at first in much darkness of mind. He 
said to a friend, " For all that I have 
preached and written, there is but one scrip- 
ture that I can think of, or dare to lay hold 
of. Tell me, brother, if I may dare lay the 
weight of my salvation on it : 6 Whosoever 
cometh unto me, I will in nowise cast out?' " 
" That you may depend on," said the mini- 
ster in reply, " though you had a thousand 
salvations at hazard ! " Having remained 
some time in silence, he at length came joy- 
fully from beneath the dark cloud, and cried, 
in a rapture of joy, " Is not the Lord good? 



IN THE HOUR OF DEATH. 



113 



Is he not infinitely good? See how he smiles! 
I do say it, and I do proclaim it ! " 

7. The noble Marquis of Argyle, on the 
morning of his execution*, while settling his 
worldly business, was so overpowered by the 
manifestation of divine love and goodness, 
that he broke out in a holy rapture, and said, 
■" I thought to have concealed the Lord's 
goodness; but it w T ill not do. I am now or- 
dering my affairs; and God is sealing my 
charter to my heavenly inheritance, and is 
just now saying to me. Son, be of good 
cheer; thy sins are forgiven thee! " 

8. James Guthrie, a godly minister, the 
companion of the noble Argyle, exclaimed, 
when on the scaffold, " Jesus is my light and 
life, my righteousness, my strength and sal- 
vation, and all my desire! Him, O Him do 
I commend with all my soul uato you. Bless 
Him, 0 my soul, now and forever! Now, O 
Lord, lettest thou thy servant depart in peace; 
for mine eyes have seen thy salvation." 

9. The pious Hervey closed his life in 
peace. His last words were : " How thank- 
ful am I for death ! It is the passage to the 



114 



THE LOVE OF CHRIST, 



Lord and Giver of eternal life. 0 welcome, 
welcome death ! Thou may est w T ell be reck- 
oned among the treasures of a christian : to 
live is Christ; to die, is gain I Lord, now 
lettest thou thy servant depart in peace; for 
mine eyes have seen thy salvation! " Then 
he fell asleep in Jesus. Oh, what a happy 
death; to die unto the Lord-^-to sleep in Jesus ■ 

10. William Romaine was an eminent 
preacher of the gospel of Jesus, and died a 
joyful death. He had the love of Christ in 
his heart; and He was very precious to him 
in the hour of death. " I have," said he, 
" the peace of God in my conscience, and 
the love of God in my heart. Jesus is more 
precious than rubies; and all that can be 
desired on earth, is not to be compared to 
him." Being near his dissolution, he cried 
out, " Holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty! 
Glory be to thee on High, for such peace on 
earth, and good will to men. 5 ' One time he 
said, " I have much of the presence of Jesus 
with me." 

11. Rev. Dr. Doddridge, an eminent ser- 
vant of Christ, said, on his deathbed, " I am 



IN THE HOUR OF DEATH. 115 

full of confidence : there is a hope set before 
me; I have fled; I still fly for refuge to that 
hope. In him I trust. In him I have strong 
consolation, and shall assuredly be accepted 
in the beloved of my soul." 

12. The immortal Baxter closed his course 
full of joy and peace. To some ministers 
around him, he said, u I have peace, I have 
peace! " " You are now drawing near your 
long-desired home," said one. " I believe, 
I believe," was his reply. When the ques- 
tion was put to him, " How are you? " he 
promptly answered, "Almost well! " To a 
friend who entered the chamber, he said, " I 
thank you, I thank you for coming." Then 
fixing his eye on him, he added, " The Lord 
teach you how to die! " These were his last 
words. 

13. John Janeway, a young minister of 
England, died one of the most triumphant 
Christian deaths on record. Not a word 
dropped from his lips, which did not breathe 
of Christ and heaven. His Saviour was with 
him in the dark vale ; the arms of Christ 
supported him; the love and smiles of Christ 



116 THE LOVE OF CHRIST^ 

cheered his departing soul, and made death 
itself sweet to him. He broke out in such 
words as these : " 0, he is come ! he is come J 
0, how glorious is the blessed Jesus ! How 
shall I speak the thousandth part of his 
praises! 0 for words to set out a little of that 
excellency; but it is inexpressible ! 0, my 
friends, come look upon a dying man, and 
wonder ! I myself can not but wonder ! Was 
there ever greater kindness 1 Were there 
ever such manifestations of rich grace? 0, 
why me, Lord; wiiy me? If this be dying, 
dying is sweet! Let no Christian be afraid 
of dying. 0, death is sw r eet to me! This 
bed is soft! Christ's arms, his smiles, his 
visits ; sure they would turn hell into heaven ! 
What are all human pleasures compared to 
one glimpse of his glory, which shines so 
strongly on my soul? I shall soon be in eter- 
nity : I shall soon see Christ himself, who 
died for me, who loved me, and washed me 
in his blood! I shall soon mingle in the 
hallelujahs of glory! Methinks I hear the 
melody of heaven, and by faith I see the 
angels waiting to carry me to the bosom of 



IN THE HOUR OF DEATH. 117 



Jesus, and I shall be forever with the Lord ! 
And who can choose but rejoice in all this?" 

Often he would say, " 0, that I could but 
let you know what I now feel ! 0, that I 
could express the thousandth part of that 
sweetness that I now find in Christ! You 
would all then think it well worth while to 
make it your business to be religious. 0, 
my dear friends, we little think what Christ 
is worth upon a death-bed! I would not for 
a world, nay, for millions of worlds, be now 
without Christ and pardon " 

To those around him* he said, " 0 that 
glory, the unspeakable glory that I behold ! 
My heart is full ; my heart is full ! Christ 
smiles, and I cannot but smile. The arms of 
my blessed Saviour are open to embrace me: 
the angels stand ready to carry my soul into 
his bosom. 0, did you but see what I see, 
you would all cry out with me, ' How long, 
dear Lord? Come, Lord Jesus, come quick- 
ly! 5 0, why are his chariot wheels so long 
in coming? I do so Jong to be with Christ, 
that I could be contented to be cut in pieces, 
and to be put to the most exquisite torments, 
10 



118 THE LOVE OF CHRIST^ 

so that I might but die and be with Christ. 
O, how sweet is Jesus! 6 Gome, Lord Jesus, 
come quickly!' Death, do thy worst! Death 
has lost its terribleness. Death! it is nothing 
to me! Death is nothing (through grace) to 
me. I can as easily die, as shut my eyes, or 
turn my head and sleep. I long to be with 
Christ : I long to die." 

To his christian friends who came to see 
him, he said, "0 help me to praise God, I 
have nothing else to do, from this time to 
eternity, but to praise and love God! 0^ 
praise, praise, praise, that infinite boundless 
love that hath, to a wonder, looked upon 
my soul, and done more for me than for 
thousands of his children ! Bless the Lord, 
0 my soul, and all that is within me, bless 
his holy name! Help me, help me, 0 my 
friends, to praise and admire him that hath 
done such astonishing wonders for my soul : 
he hath pardoned all my sins; he hath filled 
me with his goodness; he hath given me 
grace and glory, and no good thing hath he 
withheld from me." 

On another occasion, he uttered such 



SN THE HOUR OF DEATH* 119 

words as these, "Admire God for ever and 
ever, 0 ye redeemed ones! 0, those joys, 
the taste of which I have ! The everlasting 
joys which are at his right hand for ever- 
more! Eternity, eternity itself is too short 
to praise God in. O bless the Lord with 
me! Come let us shout for joy, and boast in 
the God of our salvation. 0, help me to 
praise the Lord, for his mercy endureth for 
ever." Again he said, "I shall presently 
behold Christ himself that died for me, and 
loved me, and washed me in his own blood. 
I shall, before a few hours are over, be in 
eternity, singing the song of Moses, and the 
song of the Lamb. I shall presently stand 
upon Mount Zion, with an innumerable 
company of angels, and the spirits of the 
just made perfect, and Jesus the mediator of 
the new covenante I shall hear the voice 
of much people, and be one amongst them, 
who shall say, hallelujah, salvation, glory, 
honor and power, unto the Lord our God! 
And yet a little while, and I shall sing unto 
the Lamb a song of praise, saying, Worthy 
$xt thou to receive praise, who wert slain, 



120 THE LOVE OF CHRIST, 



and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood, 
out of every kindred and tongue, and people, 
and nation, and hast made us unto our God, 
kings and priests, and we shall reign with 
thee for ever and ever." 

A few hours before his death, he said, 
a And now, dear Lord, my work is done. 
I have finished my course, I have fought 
the good fight; and henceforth there re- 
maineth for me a crown of righteousness. 
Now come, dear Lord Jesus, come quickly." 
At length his course was completed, and 
this lovely servant of the Lord fell asleep 
in Jesus. 

14. The great Thomas Halyburton, one of 
the most learned divines of Scotland, and 
professor of divinity in the University of 
St. Andrew's, breathed out his soul to 
God in a triumphant death. The following 
were his last words: "I dare look death in 
the face, in its most ghastly shape, and hope 
soon to have the victory over it. Glory, 
glory to him! 0, what of God do I see! 
I have never seen any thing like it. The 
beginning and the end of religion are won- 



IN THE HOUR OF DEATH. 121 

derfully sweet! I long for his salvation: 
I bless his name, I have found him! Iam 
taken up in blessing him; I am dying 
rejoicing in the Lord! 0, I could not have 
believed that I should bear, and bear cheer- 
fully, as I have done, this rod which hath 
lain long on me. This is a miracle! Pain 
without pain! You see a man dying; a 
monument of the glorious power of astonish- 
ing grace! 55 Some time after, he said, 
"When I shall be so weak as no longer to 
be able to speak, I will, if I can, give you a 
sign of triumph when I am near to glory." 
He did so: for when one said, "I hope you 
&re encouraging yourself in the Lord, 55 
being now unable to speak, he lifted up his 
hands and clapped them, and in a few 
moments expired. 

15. Mr. Augustus M. Toplady closed a 
long and eminently holy life, by a very 
triumphant death. He said, "0 how this 
soul of mine longs to be gone: like an im- 
prisoned bird, it longs to take its flight. O, 
that I had the wings of a dove, I should flee 
away to the realms of bliss, and be at rest 
10* 



122 



THE LOVE OF CHRIST, 



for ever! I long to be absent from the body, 
and present with the Lord." At another 
time he said, "0, what a day of sunshine 
has this been to me! I have no words to 
express it; it is unutterable! 0, my friends, 
how good our God is! Almost without 
interruption his presence has been with me." 
Being near his end, he said, "0 what 
delights ! Who can fathom the joys of the 
third heavens!" And just before he expired, 
he said, "The sky is clear; there is no 
cloud; Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly!" 

16. The Rev. Thomas Scott, the commen- 
tator, died a happy, triumphant death. The 
love of Christ filled his soul ; and his dying 
bed may be said to have been sublimely 
christian ! Among the last words he uttered 
were these, "Lord support me! Lord Jesus, 
receive my spirit ! Christ is my all ! He is 
my only hope ! 0 to realize the fullness of 
joy! 0, to have done with temptation! 
This is heaven begun! I have done with 
darkness for ever ! Satan is vanquished ! 
Nothing remains but salvation with eternal 
glory, eternal glory!" 



IN THE HOUR OF DEATH. 123 



17. Dr. Condict, President of Queen's 
(now Rutger's) College, New Jersey, was 
known to be much afraid of death, but he 
died triumphantly. Raising [himself from 
his pillow, he stretched out his quivering 
hands, and exclaimed, "I have fought a 
good fight, I have finished my course, I have 
kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for 
me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, 
the righteous Judge shall give me.' 5 Then 
he added, "Let us pray;" and having utter- 
ed a brief and solemn prayer, he gently 
leaned back on his pillow, and closing his 
eyes with his own hands, soon fell asleep in 
Jesus. 

18. Dr. Dwight, President of Yale Col- 
lege, closed his useful life by a peaceful and 
happy death. He requested his brother to 
read to him the 17th chapter of John. 
While listening to the latter verses of that 
chapter, he exclaimed, "0, w r hat triumph- 
ant truths !" Some one recited to him a 
part of the 23d Psalm, and asked him, 
" Can you now say, though I walk through 
the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear 



124 THE LOVE OF CHRIST, 

no evil, for thou art with me?" He replied s 
"I hope so." He died in peace, cheered 
by his Saviour's presence, and love. 

19. Dr. Edward Payson was an eminent 
christian, and a devoted minister of the Lord. 
He died a most triumphant death. When 
about to finish his course, he thus commenced 
a letter : " Dear sister, were I to adopt the 
figurative language of Bunyan, I might date 
this letter from the land of Beulah, of which 
I have been for some weeks a happy inha- 
bitant. The celestial city is full in my view: 
its glories beam upon me; its breezes fan 
me; its odours are wafted to me; its sounds 
strike upon my ears, and its spirit is breathed 
into my heart. Nothing separates me from 
it but the river of death, which now appears 
but as an insignificant rill that may be crossed 
at a single step, whenever God shall give 
permission. The Sun of righteousness has 
been gradually drawing nearer and nearer, 
appearing larger and brighter as he ap- 
proached; and now fills the whole hemi- 
sphere, pouring forth a flood of glory, in 
which I seem to float like an insect in the 



IN THE HOUR OF DEATH. 



125 



beams of the sun, exulting, yet almost trem- 
bling, while I gaze on this excessive bright- 
ness, and wondering with unutterable wonder 
why God should deign thus to shine upon a 
sinful worm. A single heart, and a single 
tongue, seem altogether inadequate to my 
wants : I want a whole heart for every 
separate emotion, and a whole tongue to 
express that emotion." 

Among the last words of this excellent and 
pious divine, are the following : "A young 
man, w T hen about to leave the world, ex- 
claimed, ' The battle's fought, the battle's 
fought ; but the victory is lost forever! ' But 
I can say, The battle's fought, the battle's 
fought, and the victory is won! The victory 
is won forever! I am going to bathe in an 
ocean of purity, and benevolence, and hap- 
piness, to all eternity! " 

Again : " Hitherto I have viewed God as 
a fixed star; bright indeed, but often inter- 
cepted by clouds. But now he is coming 
nearer and nearer; and he spreads into a sun 
so vast, and so glorious, that the sight is too 
dazzling for flesh and blood to sustain!" 



126 THE LOVE OF CHRIST, 

On one occasion, when laboring under 
very acute pains, he exclaimed, " These are 
God's arrows j but they are sharpened with 
love! " Once he exclaimed, " Victory, vic- 
tory! Peace, peace! " 

The last words he was heard to whisper, 
were these : " Faith and patience, hold out!" 
Thus died Dr. Payson; and he has left a 
glorious testimony to the truth of the religion 
of Jesus. 

20. Harlan Page* was an eminent chris- 
tian, and used great personal efforts for the 
souls of individuals; and in his death, Christ 
was with him. "A death-bed," said he, " is 
a precious place, when we have the presence 
of Christ — then to wake to a glorious im- 
mortality." Again : " I feel as if I had got 
half way home. I cannot bear to stop. It 
would be a pity to have the flesh return on 
these limbs again." 

Again he said : " I commit myself to thee, 
Jesus, Saviour of sinners. 0 the infinite love 
of Christ ! I may stop my mouth, and lie in 

* See a very interesting memoir of this holy man, 
by W. A. Hallock, published by the American Tract 
Society. 



IN THE HOUR OF DEATH. 127 

the dust.' 5 He appeared to feel that he had 
obtained a new view of the love of Christ; 
therefore he said, " It seems as if I never 
knew before what it was to love him. O, 
who can help loving such a blessed Saviour!" 

Again he repeated these words : "0 when 
shall I go home? How long must I be bur- 
thened with this body ! The Lord knows 
how much suffering I need, to prepare me 
for his kingdom." 

A little before his death, he exclaimed, 
" Home ! home ! " and prayed : " 0 for a 
free and full discharge! Lord Jesus, come 
quickly! Why wait thy chariot wheels so 
long? I dedicate myself to thee. 0 may I 
have the victory! O come quickly! Come, 
Lord Jesus, come quickly!" 

21. David Brainerd died a happy death. 
With perfect composure of mind, this emi- 
nent servant of God saw the approaches of 
dissolution. To him, death was not an ene- 
my, but a friend : it was the long expected 
messenger, sent to convey him home to his 
heavenly Father's house; and he would ex- 
claim, " Oh! why is the chariot so long in 



128 THE LOVE OF CHRIST, 

coming? Why tarry the wheels of his cha- 
riot? Come, Lord Jesus; come quickly ! " 
In this happy frame of mind, he expired. 

22. Rev. Risdon Darracott, an eminent 
servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, said on his 
death-bed, " I am going to that Jesus whom 
I love, and whom I have so often preached. 
Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly ! Why are 
thy chariot wheels so long a coming? " The 
night before he died, he said, " 0 what a 
good God have I in Christ Jesus ! I would 
praise him, but my lips cannot. Eternity 
will be too short to speak his praises. 55 He 
related his experience of the goodness of God 
to him during his sickness, and said, " If I 
had a thousand lives to live, I would live 
them all for Christ. I have cast anchor on 
him, and rely on his blood, and am going to 
venture my all upon him. There is nothing 
on earth I desire! Here I am waiting! What 
a mercy to be in Jesus! 55 He then threw 
abroad his arms, and exclaimed, " He is 
coming ! he is coming ! But surely this can't 
be death! 0 how astonishingly is the Lord 
softening my passage! Surely God is too 



IN THE HOUR OF DEATH. 



129 



good to such a worm ! 0 speed thy chariot 
wheels! Why are they so long in coming? 
I long to be gone. 55 At length he fell asleep 
in Jesus, whom he so much loved, and who 
manifested such tender love to him in the 
hour of death. 

23. Mrs. Catharine Brettergh, a singular 
christian of Lancashire ( England ) , was 
blessed to die a comfortable and joyful death. 
The following were some of her last words : 
" 0 the joys that I feel in my soul! 0 my 
sweet Saviour, shall I be one with thee^ as 
thou art one with the Father? 0 wonderful 
is thy love to me, who am but dust! To 
make such as me partaker of thy glory! 0 
that my tongue and heart were able to sound 
forth thy praises as I ought! 55 

24. The amiable and pious Hannah Hous- 
man, when on her death-bed, often said, with 
smiles in her face, and transports of joy : 
"Come, Lord Jesus; come quickly! Why 
tarry the wheels of thy chariot? 0, blessed 
convoy! come and fetch my soul, to dwell 
with God, and Christ, and perfect spirits, for 
ever and ever. W^hen I join that blessed 

11 



130 THE LOVE OF CHRIST, 

society above, my pleasures will never end. 
0, the glory, the glory that shall be set on 
the head of faith and love! " 

25. Jeremiah Evarts, so well known by 
every friend of missionaries, died a trium- 
phant death. Feeling the love of Christ in 
his last moments, he broke out into rapturous 
expressions: " Praise him, praise him, praise 
him in a way which you know not of. 55 Some 
one said to him, " You will soon see Jesus 
as he is, and know how to praise him." He 
replied, " 0 wonderful, wonderful, wonderful 
glory! We cannot comprehend . , . wonder- 
ful glory! I will praise him : I will praise 
him ! Wonderful .... glory .... Jesus 
reigneth ! " 

26. Richard Cecil often exclaimed on his 
death-bed, with the martyr Lambert, " None 
but Christ; none but Christ! " As he drew 
nearer to death, Jesus Christ was his only 
topic ; and a short time before he died, he 
requested one of his family to write down 
for him in a book the following sentence : 
" 6 None but Christ, none but Christ,' said 
Lambert, dying at the stake : the same, in 



IN THE HOUR OF DEATH. 131 

dying circumstances, with his whole heart, 
saith Richard Cecil." 

27. The Rev. John Rees, of London, ut- 
tered the following words on his death-bed : 
" Christ in his person, Christ in the love of 
his heart, and Christ in the power of his arm, 
is the rock on which I rest; and now" (re- 
clining his head on the pillow), " Death, 
strike!" 

28. Mrs. Hannah Woodd, mother of the 
Rev. Basil Woodd, repeated the following 
words, when near her dissolution : " Oh ! I 
am very happy! I am going to my mansion 
in the skies. Thank God, I have a hope 
built on the Rock of ages. I am dying, but 
I am going to glory. I shall see Him as he 
is. I shall be forever near him, and behold 
his face. Blessed be God! Blessed be God!" 

29. Mrs. M. M. Atthans, an excellent 
christian lady, left this testimony to the cause 
of Christianity : " I bless God, I have not 
one fear concerning dying. That Almighty 
Lord, who has so wonderfully preserved me 
to Ihe present moment, will not forsake me 
in my last extremity. No : when flesh and 



132 



THE LOVE OF CHRIST, 



heart fail, he will be the strength of my 
heart, and rny portion forever." 

30. We shall close our records of trium- 
phant deaths, with an account of the last 
hours of a remarkably pious young lady, 
who lately went to glory; and whose death- 
bed scene, it was the privilege of the author 
to witness. 

He had often read accounts of the trium- 
phant deaths of believers, but never before 
had he seen such an illustrious exhibition of 
divine grace, and love, manifested to a 
saint, in the hour of death. 

Not till then, did he feel that there was 
such power in the religion of Jesus, to sus- 
tain, and to cheer in the hour of dissolution. 
This young lady had been confined to a bed 
of severe suffering for one year. At last 
her soul was ripened for glory. The time 
came that she must die; and her death-bed 
was a scene of triumph. Christ was very 
precious to her; and his love was wonder- 
fully manifested to her soul. She often 
exclaimed, "My beloved is mine, and I am 
his."* 

*Cant. ii, 16. 



IN THE HOUR OF DEATH. 133 

The following are among her last words. 
To her distant brother she thus commenced 
a letter: "Dear Brother, I know not whether 
I shall meet you again on earth; but I hope 
to meet you in heaven, where we shall be 
for ever, singing the praises of God; where 
the Lamb, which is in the midst of the 
throne, shall feed us, and lead us unto living 
fountains of waters, and where God shall 
wipe away all tears from our eyes." 

To her father who said to her, "I fear I 
must lose you;" she replied, "Your loss 
will be my gain ! I have a building of God, 
a house, not made with hands, eternal in the 
heavens." And again when he said, I 
think you will fall asleep in Jesus;" she 
responded, "It will be a happy change." 

As her friends were standing around her 
dying bed, she said to a brother, "Have you 
any words to say?" He immediately repeat- 
ed Psalm xxiii, 4 : "Yea, though I walk 
through the valley of the shadow of death, 
I will fear no evil, for thou art with me; 
thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." 
These words were very reviving to her. 
11* 



134 THE LOVE OF CHRIST, 



She seemed to feel that Christ was with her 
in that trying moment, that his love was 
shed abroad in her heart; for, turning her- 
self, she exclaimed in a transport of joy, 
"Oh ! I would not give up Christ for all the 
world!" 

"Whom have I in the heavens high, 
But thee, O Lord, alone? 
And in the earth whom I desire, 
Beside thee there is none.' 1 

"I hope that I shall meet you all in heaven, 
where we shall be for ever with the Lord." 
She wished that Christ might be praised; 
and that he might be magnified by her dying 
breath. To her brother she said, "I hope 
you may live with Christ, and praise him 
throughout the endless ages of eternity." 

She was asked by one, if, during her sick- 
ness she had not often experienced something 
like heaven upon earth, she replied that she 
had. Her earthly course being nearly finished, 
she opened her eyes which were soon to be 
closed in death, and in the language of 
strong, unshaken faith, exclaimed with Job, 
"I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that 



IN THE HOUR OF DEATH. 135 

he shall stand at the latter day upon the 
earth: and though after my skin, worms 
destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see 
God: whom I shall see for myself, and mine 
eyes shall behold, and not another, though 
my reins be consumed within me."* Once 
she broke out into a rapture, and exclaimed, 
"0, to be ever with the Lord, what a happy 
change!" 

A little while before her death, one said 
to her, "It is a happy thing when the be- 
liever can say, when about to leave the 
world, 'I have finished the work which thou 
gavest me to do.' She said yes; and added 
(though with great difficulty, her breath 
being almost gone), "I am now ready to be 
offered, and the time of my departure is at 
hand. I have fought a good fight, I have 
finished my course. I have kept the faith: 
henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of 
righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous 
Judge, shall give me at that day; and not 
to me only, but unto all them also that love 
his appearing." 

* Job, xix, 25 - 27, 



136 THE LOYE OF CHRIST, 

Her faith remained firm unto the end, and 
her hope and confidence unshaken to the 
last. Her sky was clear and serene, her 
mind, calm and composed; and thus she fell 
asleep in Jesus, and entered into the joy of 
her Lord. 

As the writer gazed upon the solemn 
scene before him, he could not but feel the 
force of Revelation xiv, 13, "Blessed are the 
dead which die in the Lord." A few days 
before this young lady died, she requested 
the following verses to be read at her 
funeral. They are too beautiful, and impres- 
sive to be omitted here. 

TO MY YOUNG COMPANIONS. 

My youthful mates, both small and great, 

Stand here, and you shall see, 
An awful sight, which is a type 

Of what you soon must be. 

I used t' appear once fresh and fair 

Among the youthful crowd; 
But now behold me dead and cold, 

Wrapped in a sable shroud. 

My cheeks once red, like roses spread, 

My sparkling eyes so gay, 
But now you see how 'tis with me, 

A lifeless lump of clay. 



IN THE HOUR OF DEATH. 



137 



When you are dressed in all your best, 

In fashion so complete, 
You soon must be as you see me, 

Wrapped in a winding sheet. 
Ah, youth beware, and do prepare 

To meet the monster, death; 
For he may come when you are young, 

And steal away your breath. 
When you unto your frolics go, 

Remember what I say, 
In a short time, though in your prime, 

You may be called away. 
Now I am gone, I can't return; 

No more of me you'll see ; 
But it is true that all of you 

Must shortly follow me. 
When you unto my grave do go, 

The gloomy place to see, 
I say to you who stand and view, 

Prepare to follow me. 

And now, reader, can you not say, "Let 
me die the death of the righteous, and let 
my last end be like his! " How important 
is it then that you should now choose Christ, 
in order that you may enjoy his love and 
presence, not only through life, but also in 
the hour of death! If you belong to Christ, 
you will find him, in the last hour of life, a 
friend that sticketh closer than a brother. 



138 THE LOVE OF CHRIST, 

What an awful thing it is to die without 
salvation by Christ, without an interest in 
him; and yet millions live without God, and 
without hope in the world; and millions 
more die in the same awful condition, and 
plunge into a dark and miserable eternity. 
0, be admonished to choose Christ in time, 
and he will be your's in death, and in 
eternity. Oh ! blessed thought. How un- 
speakably blessed it is to enjoy the love and 
smiles of Christ in a dying hour! 

Then what can the world do for you? 
The tears of your friends, and the exertions 
of your physicians, will then be unavailing. 

It is Christ alone that can make a dying- 
bed easy and comfortable. His love and 
presence will sustain you, and his almighty 
arm support you. 

"Though unseen by human eye, 
The Redeemer's hand is nigh: 
He has poured salvation's light 
Far within the vale of night ; 
There will God my steps control, 
There his presence bless my soul. 
Lord, whate'er my sorrows be, 
Teach me to look up to thee." 



IN THE HOUR OF DEATH. 139 

"He who is thus with you," says an excel- 
lent writer, "will afford all needful comfort 
and support in the trying hour. He will 
open at that time treasures of grace and 
strength, to which you had been previously 
a stranger. The Redeemer himself is pre- 
sent, not only to guide his saints, but to 
infuse that comfort and vigor which will 
abundantly compensate for the sinkings of 
expiring nature. Who but those who have 
entered heaven, can tell w r hat unearthly joys 
are vouchsafed the saint in a dying hour? 
Often, there is reason to believe, they trans- 
cend every thing possessed in the present 
life. There may be visions of glory realized 
by the spirit, which are second only to those 
of heaven. The dying experience of many 
saints has been of the most delightful kind. 
Whether such hopes and joys as were afford- 
ed to Janeway and others, will be vouch- 
safed to you, you know not; nor is it neces- 
sary you should know. Whatever is need- 
ful for you in a dying hour, Christ will 
bestow. He says, "My grace is sufficient 
for thee."* Remember, that he has said, 
* 2 Cor. xii, 9 S 



140 



THE LOVE OF CHRIST, 



"Fear not. I am he that liveth, and was dead ; 
and behold, I am alive for evermore, amen; 
and have the keys of hell and of death"* 

When we contemplate those, whose deaths 
we have recorded in this volume, we may 
justly say, " These all died in faith and, 
reader, let us also be " followers of them 
who through faith and patience inherit the 
promises."! "Wherefore, seeing we also are 
compassed about with so great a cloud of 
witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, 
and the sin which doth so easily beset us, 
and let us run with patience the race that is 
set before us, looking unto Jesus the author 
and finisher of our faith."! 

If you belong to Christ, he will love you 
in life, in death, and in that happy home, 
which his love has prepared for you. 

In conclusion, christian reader, you will 
soon exchange the abodes of mortality for 
the regions of bliss. Then look beyond the 
grave. Do not confine your thoughts to 
this gloomy place. Contemplate the sublime 
raptures of your future existence beyond the 
precincts of time. Christ shall one day 
*Rev. i, 17, 18. t Heb, vi, 12. t Heb. xii, 1, 2. 



IN THE HOUR OF DEATH. 141 



break the slumbers of the grave, and you 
will arise to immortality. 

The love of Christ does not stop at death., 
It extends beyond this solemn period. It 
will accompany you into the heavenly world; 
your everlasting happy home: and you will 
soon arrive there. From the valley of the 
shadow of death you shall ascend to the 
summit of Zion. You shall "Come unto 
Mount Sion, and unto the city of the living 
God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an 
innumerable company of angels, to the 
general assembly and church of the first- 
born, which are written in heaven, and to God 
the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just 
men made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator 
of the new covenant, and to the blood of 
sprinkling, that speaketh better things than 
that of Abel."* For the darkness of mor- 
tality, you shall obtain the bright glories of 
heaven. "Thine eyes shall see the King in 
his beauty; they shall behold the land that 
is very far off."f You will possess the 
promised land, the heavenly Canaan. Then 

* Feb. xii, 22 - 24. t Is. xxxiii, 17. 

12 



142 



THE LOVE OF CHRIST, 



shall the days of your mourning be ended 
Raised in the likeness of your blessed Re- 
deemer, you shall, finally, be presented 
faultless before the presence of his glory 
with exceeding joy. Entering the fair man- 
sions of glory, you shall reign with your 
glorified Redeemer, for ever and ever. 0! 
happy issue to the Christian's short pilgrim- 
age on earth! 

With such cheering prospects to be real- 
ized, reader, can you not also say, in the 
prospect of death, with many dying saints, 
"I have a desire to depart, and to be with 
Christ. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus, 
come quickly !" 

In the following chapters we shall con- 
template that happy home which Christ, in 
his great love for a lost world, has now 
gone to prepare for his children. "For we 
know that if our earthly house of this taber- 
nacle were dissolved, we have a building of 
God, a house not made with hands, eternal 
in the heavens."* 



*2 Cor. v, 1. 



IN THE HOUR OF DEATH. 



143 



u How happy is the dying saint, 
Whose sins are all forgiven ; 
With joy he passes Jordan's flood, 
Upheld by hopes of heaven. 

The Saviour, whom he truly lov'd, 
Now cheers him by his grace ; 
A glory gilds his dying bed, 
And beams upon his face. 

Ecstatic joy and heavenly bliss 
Swell his enraptured heart ; 
He views the promis'd land of rest, 
And pants for his depart. 

Terror and dread are both unknown ; 
Sweet peace and hope appear, 
To guide the blessed traveller home. 
And all his footsteps cheer. 

Angels of light attendant wait 
His spirit to convey 
Beyond this drear abode of night, 
To realms of endless day. 

Oh ! may I live the life of faith, 
Abound in holy love, 
Till death shall bear my joyful soul 
To Zion's courts above." 



CHAPTER IX. 



THE HAPPY HOME IN VIEW. 

"In my Father's house are many mansions : I go to prepare a 
place for you."— John xiv. 2. 

"As when the weary trav'ller gains 
The height of some o'er-looking hill, 
His heart revives, if cross the plains 
He eyes his home, tho^ distant still. 

While he surveys the much loved spot, 
He slights the space that lies between- 
His past fatigues are now forgot, 
Because his journey's end is seen. 

Thus when the christian pilgrim views 
By faith, his mansion in the skies, 
The sight his fainting strength renews, 
And wings his speed to reach the prize. 

The thought of home his spirit cheers, 
No more he grieves for troubles past ; 
Nor any future trial fears, 
So he may safe arrive at last. 

^Tis there he says I am to dwell 
With Jesus, in the realms of day-, 
Then I shall bid my cares farewell, 
And he will wipe my tears away. 

Jesus, on thee our hope depends, 

To lead us on to thine abode * 

Assur'd our home will make amends 

For all our toil while on the road. 1 ' — Newton. 



THE HAPPY HOME IN VIEW. 145 

Christ has not only manifested his love to 
a lost world in his incarnation, sufferings, 
and death, but also in going to prepare a 
place, a happy home, for those whose salva- 
tion he has accomplished. Said the blessed 
Redeemer, to his sorrowful disciples, when 
he was about to leave the world, "X go to 
prepare a place for you."* 

Christ has manifested most amazing love 
to believers, in preparing for their eternal 
abode, mansions of glory, a house not 
made with hands, eternal in the heavens; 
a city which hath foundations, whose buil- 
der and maker is God. Heaven is a pre- 
pared place for believers; prepared by 
Christ in his infinite love. The love of 
Christ will make heaven a glorious, happy 
abode indeed. Oh! what a happy home 
will heaven be. Thither all the redeemed 
shall finally assemble, to spend one eternal 
day in the glorious presence of Immanuel. 
Who can fully describe the joys of the Chris- 
tian's happy home? Feeble mortals could 
not comprehend the description if it should 
be given. 

12* * John xiv, 2. 



146 



THE HAPPY HOME 



What human mind can conceive of the 
unspeakable blessedness which awaits the 
child of God in that upper and better world, 
his happy home! Dear believer, to know 
what heaven really is, you must put off mor- 
tality. " Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, 
neither have entered into the heart of man 
the things which God hath prepared for them 
that love him.' 5 * 

Is not your happy home always in view? 
Do you not long for the approach of that 
joyful day, which will introduce you into the 
mansions of glory — bring you to your end- 
less, happy home? How short is the space 
that lies between you and glory! The time, 
how 7 short! Already is the night far spent. 
The day is at hand; that blessed day which 
will bring each weary christian traveller 
home, and seat him in his Father's house; 
that house not made with hands, in which 
there are many mansions, and one for you, 0 
reader, if you are seeking with all your heart 
the happy home. Christian, the map of 
heaven is laid wide open for your inspect ion.. 
Often, obtain a glimpse of the happy land.. 
* 1 Cor. ii, 9. 



IN VIEW. 



147 



Be always looking heavenward and home- 
ward. Let heaven be always in your eye, 
and the earth under your feet, and in a little 
while God shall wipe away all tears : you 
will reach your journey's end ; then faith 
shall be turned into vision; hope, into frui- 
tion; and you will be fully satisfied with the 
goodness of God's house. 

As you now survey the glories of your 
happy home, does not your heart exult at the 
prospect? And is not the thought of home 
at all times refreshing? What name is more 
endearing than home, sweet home; around 
which so many hallowed associations cluster? 

Christian, heaven is your only true home. 
Here you have no continuing city nor place 
of abode. The divine command is, "Arise 
ye, and depart; for this is not your rest."* 
There remaineth therefore a rest to the 
people of God."f God has provided a better 
home for you, than this polluted world. 0, 
remember that you are a stranger and pilgrim 
on earth. Let your course be onward in the 
christian's journey. Quicken your pace on 
the road to glory. Your happy home will 
t Micah ii, 10. t Heb. iii 5 9, 



148 



THE HAPPY HOME 



not be always in view ; it w T ill soon be in 
possession. 

Reader, are you pressing forward to the 
happy home? Is heaven the home which 
you expect to reach? Do you long to arrive 
at those everlasting mansions in the skies? 
Let the hope of eternal glory elevate your 
affections above all sublunary objects. " If 
ye then be risen with Christ, seek those 
things which are above, where Christ sitteth 
on the right hand of God. Set your affec- 
tions on things above, not on things on the 
earth; for ye are dead, and your life is hid 
with Christ in God. When Christ, who is 
our life, shall appear, then shall ye also 
appear with him in glory."* 

The ultimate object of Christ's mediatorial 
work is to bring sinners to glory — to God's 
house — to the happy home : there they are 
to live; there to reign forever; there to be 
ever with the Lord. God will bring all his 
dear children home to glory. Then he will 
receive them, and be a father unto them, and 
they will be his sons and daughters. They 
will be forever with their kind heavenly 
* Col. iii, 1-4, 



IN VIEW. 



149 



Father — - with their blessed elder Brother — 
with prophets and apostles — with saints and 
angels — with one another. What a happy 
meeting ! What blessed society will the 
saints enjoy! Then they will have gained 
the prize of the high calling of God in Christ 
Jesus. They w T ill receive those crowns of 
glory which fade not aw T ay. They shall be 
kings and priests unto God. They shall serve 
him day and night in his temple above. 
Blest abode! Delightful employment, that 
of praising God! Happy they! who are to 
spend eternity in such a home; contrasted 
with the glories of which, this earth is dark- 
ness itself. 

Christian, soon shall the interposing vail 
of mortality be drawn aside, and you will 
behold the glories of that land which no 
mortal pen can now describe. But is heaven 
soon to be your happy home? Are you there 
to reign with Jesus, in the realms of ever- 
lasting day; there to behold the uncreated 
glory of Immanuel? Oh! then, how trifling 
should the transient concerns of earth appear 
to you! You should smile at the frowns of 



150 



THE HAPPY HOME 



time. The angry tempest will soon be oven. 
The swelling waves of life's ocean will soon 
rise no more. You will soon have reached 
the desired haven of eternal rest, the blessed 
shores of immortality, the happy home; and 
that home will more than compensate for all 
the toil by the way. 

" Soon will yon reach the blest abode,. 

Where happy pilgrims ever reign- 
Soon shall you see the face of God, 

And all the bliss of heaven obtain." 

Live with your happy home always in? 
view. Let the glories of a coming eternity 
revive your drooping spirits, amidst life's 
trials and life's conflicts.. The road to glory 
is but a short one. A moment of time in- 
tervenes, and then eternal ages commence to 
roll away. After this moment has passed* 
you will enter upon a state of endless felicity. 
Arrived at your happy home^ you will take 
up an everlasting song of praise; you will 
celebrate the victories of redeeming love,, 
through one unending day. You have over- 
come, through the blood of the Lamb. You 
have been more than a conqueror^ through 



5N VIEW* 



151 



kim that loved you. And now you shall 
stand a monument of God's love, and mercy, 
and grace; you shall be made a pillar in his 
glorious temple above, whence there shall be 
no more going out. You shall live with 
Christ, and praise him throughout the endless 
ages of eternity. You shall behold Immanuel 
in his unveiled glory. You shall praise him 
for that unbounded love, which has obtained 
for you immortal bliss. 0 christian ! the 
love of Christ has procured that unfading 
wreath of glory, which will one day be en- 
twined around your brow; that radiant dia- 
dem which you will forever wear. The love 
of Christ has prepared a happy home for 
your reception, when this sublunary scene 
shall have vanished from your mortal vision. 

Believer, all the happiness you enjoy in 
time; and all the glory that will crown you 
through eternity, flow from the love of 
Christ. Make him your boast in time, your 
all in all; and may he be formed in you, the 
hope of glory. Happy they! who have 
fled for refuge to the world's Redeemer. 
He will carry them to glory. Reader, may 



152 



THE HAPPY HOME 



this precious Saviour be yours, in life, in 
death, and in eternity. Conducted by the 
Captain of your salvation, you will also 
reach the christian's happy home, and 
realize the joys of a blessed immortality. 

Oh! what glorious prospects are presented 
to the eye of faith, the spiritual vision of 
the christian! He views the never-ending 
glories of the heavenly kingdom; and in 
that view he loses the sight of terrestrial 
grandeur. He quickly glides over the nar- 
row stream of time; till he finds himself 
sailing on the vast unbounded ocean of 
eternity, an eternity of blessedness. He lifts 
his eyes to the hills, from whence cometh 
his help; those everlasting hills which tower 
aloft, beyond the swellings of Jordan; 
beyond the valley of the shadow of death. 
He expects soon to reach the heights of Zion. 
"They go from strength to strength, even- 
one of them in Zion appeareth before God.* 

In the mean time, 0 my soul, meditate 
upon the glories of thy happy home. What 
must be the feelings of the christian, when 
he views all heaven as his own; when he 
* Psalm lxxxiv, 7. 



IN VIEW. 



153 



can claim all the delights of the celestial 
paradise as his, and looks upon the world to 
come as his eternal happy home! 

Come, christian, survey the happy land, 
your everlasting home. Life is fast hastening 
away. The oscillating tides of time are 
bearing you onward and homeward. Every 
wave of life's tempestuous ocean is only 
wafting you to the happy shores of a blessed 
eternity. Then look beyond this poor dying 
world ! Look at that eternal home which 
Christ has prepared for you! View the ce- 
lestial city, irradiated by the glory of God 
and the Lamb! See the pearly gates, the 
golden streets, the shining inhabitants of the 
New Jerusalem ! The uncreated glory of 
God will enlighten that city of everlasting 
habitation, which the love of Christ has 
prepared. 

Oh J what a blessed habitation has Christ 
prepared for believers! What a glorious 
inheritance has he promised them! Come, 
my soul, and survey it. » 



13 



154 



THE HAPPY HOME 



"My soul on Pisgah's mount ascend,. 

Where Moses once admiring stood 5 
There view the promised land extend 

Beyond the swelling Jordan's flood. 

By faith survey the landscape o'er, 
Where living waters gently flow; 

Till earth usurp thy love no more ; 
Till all thy kindling passions glow. 

In that blessed region of delight, 
The saints nor sin nor sorrow feel, 

Eternal day excludes the night, 
And all possess the spirit's seal. 

The ransomed soul in glory clad, 
Shines brighter than meridian sun 5 

The weary pilgrim, now so sad, 

There finds his toilsome journey done." 

0 my soul, rise and soar aloft to the hea- 
venly Canaan! Mount up as upon eagles" 
wings, and behold the king in his beauty., 
and the land that is afar off. Leave the world 
to those who seek their pleasures and happi- 
ness in its perishing enjoyments, and set thy 
affections on things above, where Christ sit- 
teth at the right hand of God. 

How the world recedes from your view, as 
you obtain a glimpse of the heavenly land l 
The short-lived pleasures of earth, and the 



IN VIEW. 



155 



transient show of sublunary magnificence, 
no longer fascinate the mind, as it gains a 
Pisgah view of the christian's endless, happy 
home, the glories of which baffle all descrip- 
tion. The love of Christ is most illustriously 
manifested to believers, in his going to pre- 
pare such a home for them. 0 matchless 
love! that Jesus has not only died for sinners, 
but has gone to prepare mansions above, 
where they shall reign with him in eternal 
glory! Hasten on, 0 joyful day, when the 
redeemed of the Lord shall come to Zion 
with songs ; when ransomed sinners shall 
commence to celebrate the wonders of re- 
deeming love in mansions of glory! 

Look forward, christian reader, to the 
consummation of your bliss. With joy an- 
ticipate the glories of the resurrection morn- 
ing ; a morning that will dawn upon the 
glorified saint, without a single cloud to 
darken his beatific vision, or obscure the 
glorious rays of the Sun of righteousness, 
that will arise with healing in his beams, 
and forever gladden the hearts of millions of 
iiappy saintSo Oh! what a happy day will 



156 



THE HAPPY HOME 



that be, when all the children of God shall 
reach their everlasting home; those mansions 
in the skies, where all are perfectly blessed 
in the full enjoyment of God through eternity* 

Dear believer, in humble confidence in 
God, wait with patience till the coming of 
the Lord Jesus; till you are brought into the 
full possession of the heavely inheritance. 
" Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, which, according to his abun- 
dant mercy, hath begotten us again unto a 
lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ 
from the dead; to an inheritance incorrupt- 
ible and undefiled, and that fadeth not aw r ay; 
reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by 
the power of God through faith unto salva- 
tion, ready to be revealed in the last time."* 

Blessed Jesus! keep me by thy almighty 
power through faith unto salvation. Spirit- 
ualize my affections — - elevate my views to 
the world of glory. Wean my heart from 
the fleeting enjoyments of this mortal life, 
this perishing earth. Satisfy me with thy 
goodness and mercy; visit me w T ith thy sal- 



* 1 Peter i, 3-5. 



IN VIEW. 



157 



vation, and at last bring me home to thyself 
in glory. 

" Then let my soul forever raise 
The incense of adoring praise ; 
And join the heavenly choirs above, 
In sweetest songs of grateful love." 

Reader! look beyond this sublunary scene 
of changing mortality. 

4 'All, all on earth is shadow; all beyond 

Is substance. * * * 

How solid alLj where change shall be no more ! " 

Soar aloft on the wings of faith, and roam 
in imagination through the myriads of ages 
that lie beyond the precincts of time; and in 
those regions of immortality prepared for the 
just, you will realize the joys of endless life, 
of an immortal existence, and of an inherit- 
ance before which the splendor of a thousand 
worlds fades; which will endure when this 
earth and all terrestrial glory shall have 
passed away, and when the sun shall have 
cast his last rays, and the stars have set in 
endless night! " 



13* 



158 THE HAPPY HOME IN VIEW*. 



" Life's theatre as yet is shut 5 and death, 
Strong death alone, can heave the massy bar y 
This gross impediment of clay remove. 
* * * * And spring to life, 
The life of gods; oh transport! and of man." 

" Now unto him that is able to keep you 
from falling, and to present you faultless 
before the presence of his glory with ex- 
ceeding joy; to the only wise God our Sa- 
viour, be glory and majesty, dominion and 
power, both now and ever, amen."* 

* Jude i, 24, 25. 



CHAPTER X. 



THE HAPPY HOME CONTEMPLATED — BEING WITH 
CHRIST IN GLORY. 

" Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me, be 
with me where I am " — John xvii, 24. 
"So shall we ever be with the Lord." — 1 Thess. iv, 17. 

In those blest regions of delight, 
Where Jesus is unveil'd to sight, 
No mortal tongue can e'er express 
The ransom'd sinner's blessedness. 

What mortal pen can describe the glowing 
beauties of ImmanuePs land ! What mortal 
tongue can express the blessedness of the 
saints, when gazing upon the heaven-bright 
glories of ImmanuePs form, and dwelling 
forever in his glorious presence, under the 
resplendent beams of the Sun of righteous- 
ness! This is what the eye hath not seen; 
what the ear hath not heard; what the heart 
of man has never conceived. But yet this 
blessedness awaits all the saints, and will 
abide with them through the incessant flow 
of eternity's immeasurable ages. 0, happy 
thought ! 



160 



THE HAPPY HOME. 



Dear christian reader, Christ has, in his 
Infinite love, now gone to prepare a place, 
an endless happy home for you ; but he will 
come again, and receive you to himself. He 
will not always leave you in this vale of 
tears. No : when this short life is ended, 
you will " depart and be with Christ;" you 
will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. 
Christ will bring you to his Father's house, 
where his glorious presence is enjoyed with- 
out a medium. He will welcome you to the 
mansions of glory, to the kingdom of hea- 
ven. " Come, ye blessed of my Father, in- 
herit the kingdom prepared for you from 
the foundation of the world."* "I go to 
prepare a place for you; and if I go and 
prepare a place for you, I will come again 
and receive you unto myself; that where I 
am, there ye may be also."f 

Thus spake our Saviour before he left this 
world — before he ascended to heaven from 
Mount Olivet. But there is a day coming, 
when that same Saviour shall break through 
the clouds of heaven; " when he shall come 

* Matth. xxv, 34. t John xiv, 2, 3. 



BEING WITH CHRIST. 



161 



to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired 
in all them that believe in that day." 

Job obtained a glimpse of this day. He 
starts forward on the wings of faith, and 
beholds through the lapse of many ages the 
divine form of his Redeemer. He sees him 
with his very eyes. " I know that my Re- 
deemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the 
latter day upon the earth; and though after 
my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my 
flesh shall I see God : whom I shall see for 
myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not 
another, though my reins be consumed within 
me."* 

Christ shall come again, to gather his 
children home, to that place which he has 
prepared fpr them. Then shall the word of 
command, issued from his blessed lips, go 
forth : " Gather my saints together unto me, 
those that have made a covenant with me by 
sacrifice. For the Lord himself shall descend 
from heaven with a shout, with the voice of 
the archangel, and with the trump of God; 
and the dead in Christ shall rise first : then 
we which are alive and remain shall be 

* Job xix, 25 - 27 . 



162 



THE HAPPY HOME. 



caught up together with them in the clouds, 
to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we 
ever be with the Lord."* Then shall we be 
ever in his presence, where there is fullness 
of joy and pleasure forever. 

It is Christ's presence that will make the 
very heaven of happiness, the very centre of 
felicity. It is being with Christ that will 
constitute the purest, brightest, noblest hea- 
ven. What would heaven be to the saints, 
did they not enjoy the presence of Christ? It 
would be no heaven to them, though they 
were surrounded with the glories of the New 
Jerusalem. 

0 Blessed Jesus ! may we be going up 
through this wilderness world, leaning upon 
thee; walking by faith; loving and serving 
thee; and may we finally be brought to be- 
hold thy glorious face in the realms of light, 
in the paradise above, and be ever with thee. 

u What is the world, but grief and care? 
What heaven, if thou be absent there? 
Thy glorious face illumes the sky, 
And sheds ecstatic joys on high." 



*1 Thess. iv, 16, 17. 



BEING WITH CHRIST. 



163 



It is in the presence of Christ, that we will 
participate in those pleasures which are at 
God's right hand. " In thy presence is full- 
ness of joy : at thy right hand, there are 
pleasures for evermore.' 3 * 

Oh! to be ever with the Lord! What hu- 
man mind can comprehend the blessedness of 
such a state? Christ knows this blessedness; 
and how fervently he prays, " Father, I will 
that they also whom thou hast given me be 
with me where I am, that they may behold 
my glory which thou hast given me."f This 
prayer will be answered. We shall soon be 
with Christ. We shall soon behold his glory. 
Then shall we see Him as he is ; even Him 
who loved us, and washed us from our sins 
in his own blood; who died on Calvary for 
us; w 7 hose blessed hands, and side, and feet 
were pierced for us; and whose precious 
blood flowed so freely to wash away our sins: 
to Him be glory forever ! Oh! blessed sight. 
Then shall we gaze forever upon the un- 
created glory of Immanuel, shining forth in 
full unclouded splendor. Then shall we 
behold the glory of that blessed Redeemer, 
* Psalm xvi, 11, f John xvii, 24, 



164 



THE HAPPY HOME. 



who left the regions of bliss, to assume mor- 
tal flesh and die for us. Then shall we see 
with our very eyes, Him who was crucified 
for us on Calvary; but, oh! we shall see Him 
shining with inconceivable glory. The glory 
of Christ will attract the eyes of all the re- 
deemed, and he will be forever " admired in 
all them that believe." " The Word was 
made flesh;"* and the glory of God shall 
shine through that flesh, making that blessed 
body more glorious than a thousand suns. 

The saints shall dwell forever in the pre- 
sence of Immanuel. Thrice happy they, who 
are to spend eternity in beholding his radiant 
glory, and in encompassing his throne with 
everlasting songs of salvation! Then shall 
it be proclaimed through the heavenly man- 
sions, " Behold, the tabernacle of God is with 
men, and he will dwell with them, and they 
shall be his people; and God himself shall 
be with them, and be their God."f 

In heaven, the saints will enjoy the society 
of the Lord himself; which is the perfection 
of happiness. Says Christ, " Where I am, 
there shall also my servant be." 0! to be 
* John i, 14. t Rev. xxi. 3. 



BEING WITH CHRIST. 



165 



ever near Him; to see Him as he is; to be 
like him; to behold his glory; to have that 
glory revealed in us; to praise Him eternally 
in the mansions above : what a happy home 
will this be ! " Beloved, now are we the 
sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what 
we shall be; but we know that when he shall 
appear, we shall be like him, for we shall 
see him as he is." # 

Oh, to be like the blessed Jesus; to see 
him in glory! What heart would desire more? 
Then shall we commence to tread with our 
elder Brother, and dear Redeemer, the cease- 
less round of eternity. Then shall the won- 
ders of his love be incessantly unfolded before 
us; causing new songs of praise to ascend 
from our enraptured souls, to Him that sitteth 
upon the throne* Who can express the de- 
lights the saints must feel, when they look 
into the face of Christ, and there read his 
tender love to them ! But oh how completely 
engulphed in the abyss of infinite love, and 
lost in wonder and praise, must our souls be, 
when we gaze upon the scars which mark 
* 1 John iii, 2, 

14 



166 



THE HAPPY HOME. 



the hands and feet and side ot our blessed 
Saviour, and there read the immensity of 
that love which made him die for us! "And 
I beheld, and lo, in the midst of the throne, 
and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the 
elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain."J 
In those blessed regions, where He is un- 
veiled to the sight of mortals, Jesus will 
gladden our hearts with perpetual joy, and 
love us with an everlasting love. 

It is the privilege of believers to be with 
Christ; to spend eternity in his presence; to 
gaze forever upon the Sun of Righteousness, 
shining in his meridian splendor. That sun 
will never set in the " new heavens." His 
beams will always irradiate the city of our 
God, our happy dwelling place. 

Christ's presence will make our " Father's 
house" a glorious home, a happy abode, a 
blessed habitation. Where he is, there will 
heaven be. His glorious presence will il- 
luminate the abode of the blessed, the realms 
of everlasting day. And, believer, when you 
come to dwell in those blissful mansions, his 
presence, his society, his love, and his celes- 
* Rev. v 3 6. 



BEING WITH CHRIST. 



167 



tial voice will cause your enraptured soul to 
rejoice; and eternity will be spent in being 
with him, and in beholding his glory. 

" Oh ! to hear that voice speak ineffable 
peace and consolation to your soul; to see 
Him as he is, whose glory infinitely surpasses 
all objects of nature and of art; to see those 
dear hands, and feet, and head, whose wounds 
in suffering for you will be more brilliant 
and beautiful in your eye than the topaz of 
Ethiopia : yea, to have his glory revealed 
in you; to be perfectly like him, and to reign 
with him: what a heaven will this be! Then 
your unbounded desires, which the whole 
creation could not limit, shall be satisfied 
with the full fruition of immortal love. You 
shall be refreshed with the emanations of 
uncreated life and joy, and shall drink at the 
fountain-head of pleasure. You shall mingle 
with society the most pure, perfect and love- 
ly, whose glory is only surpassed by that of 
Him that sitteth upon the throne. You shall 
dwell with kindred spirits, in everlasting 
harmony. Your employment shall combine 
all the excellencies of ease, delight, and per- 
petuity. You will have nothing to do but to 



168 



THE HAPPY HOME. 



worship and serve God, and shall have ability 
to worship and serve him forever/ 5 * 

What a happy home will heaven be, where 
we shall be ever with the Lord ! How happy 
will the saints be, when they come to dwell 
in that heavenly home — in that glorious 
palace, where " He that sitteth on the throne 
shall dwell among them ; " f where " the 
Lamb which is in the midst of the throne 
shall feed them, and shall lead them unto 
living fountains of waters: and God shall 
wipe away all tears from their eyes."J 

Of that celestial city, in which the saints 
are to make their eternal home, it is said 
u the throne of God and of the Lamb shall 
be in it; and his servants shall serve him, 
and they shall see his face, and his name 
shall be in their foreheads."|| 

The saints, in heaven, shall see Christ with 
their bodily eyes, We shall see Him, who 
loved us, and gave himself for us. " Now we 
see through a glass, darkly ; but then, face to 
face."§ Yes, we shall behold His glorious face, 
and be fully satisfied with his immortal love. 

* Sherman. f Rev. vii, 15. % Rev. vii, 17. 
|| Rev. xxii, 3, 4. §1 Cor. xiii, 12. 



BEING WITH CHRIST. 



169 



Dear christian reader, we hope shortly to 
exchange the trials and afflictions of this 
vale of tears — this suffering, dying world, 
for the glories of eternity; and be ever with 
the Lord. Then will we have done with 
transitory life, with grief and care. Then 
will we drink of affliction's bitter cup no 
more, and death itself will have lost its power 
over us. Then shall we be lodged in the 
regions of immortality, and be ever with the 
Lord. And when ten thousand times ten 
thousand years have rolled away; when ages 
countless as the stars which deck the mid- 
night sky have run their ample round, it may 
be said that we are, as it were, just beginning 
to be ever with the Lord ; that we are just 
beginning to behold his glory, and to look 
into that wonderful counsel of love, that 
glorious plan of salvation, which will be our 
theme of meditation, of wonder, and of praise 
through the ceaseless ages of eternity. Then 
shall we know the joy of being with Christ. 
Then, there shall be no more separation 
between Christ and his people : they shall 
then be brought near him, ancj abide with 
bin) forever, J 4* 



170 



THE HAPPY HOME. 



"0 glorious hour! 0 blest abode! 
I shall be near and like my God ! 
And flesh and sin no more control 
The sacred pleasure of the soul." 

It will be Christ's amazing love that will 
then fill our hearts with joy unspeakable and 
full of glory. It will be the brighter mani- 
festation of that love which will cause our 
souls to overflow w T ith ecstatic joy, as we 
dwell in the presence of Immanuel, and sur- 
round his throne, and behold his glory. Then 
shall we be better " able to comprehend with 
all saints what is the breadth, and length, 
and depth, and height; and to know the love 
of Christ, which passeth knowledge." Then 
shall we "be filled w T ith all the fulness of 
God." 

Oh ! the infinite love of Christ, that he 
should bring sinners to glory, to dwell in his 
presence, to spend eternity w 7 ith him ! " So 
shall we ever be with the Lord."* 

" By faith I see the hour at hand, 

When in his presence I shall stand : 

Then will it be my endless bliss, 

To see him where and as he is." — Newton, 



* 1 Thess. iv, 17. 



CHAPTER XL 



THE HAPPY HOME CONTEMPLATED. THE BLES- 
SEDNESS OF THE SAINTS. 

^In thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are 
pleasures for evermore. ,; — Psalm xvi, 11. 

Come, 0, my soul, retire from the noise, 
bustle, and tumult of a vain departing world ? 
and contemplate thy happy home in the 
heavens! Look beyond this present fleeting 
scene of existence, and view thy future, 
eternal resting place; and may the bright 
glories of heaven, elevate thy views and 
raise thy affections above the transitory 
pleasures of this decaying scene. 

Under the pleasing emblem of a happy 
home, heaven is most beautifully set forth. 
Christ calls it his Father's house. "In my 
Father's house are many mansions."* If we 
are the children of God, we may also call it 
our Father's house, our happy home; and 
each believer may say with the Psalmist, 
<*I will dwell in the house of the Lord for 
ever."f 

* John xiy ? 2 t f Psalm xxiii, 6. 



172 



THE HAPPY HOME, 



Heaven is also described as a glorious 
city. In his sublime vision of the heavenly 
world, John thus speaks; "And I John saw 
the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down 
from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride 
adorned for her husband;" "Having the 
glory of God: and her light was like 
unto a stone most precious, even like a 
jasper stone, clear as crystal."* The streets 
of this city are of gold; and the gates of 
peral. "And the twelve gates were twelve 
perals; and the street of the city was pure 
gold? as it were transparent glass."f And 
John adds, "I saw no temple therein, for 
the Lord God Almighty, and the Lamb, are 
the temple of it."t 

In this celestial city which is thus beauti- 
fied by the creative power of God, and 
enlightened with his glory, the saints are to 
spend the ceaseless ages of a glorious, and 
happy eternity. This is that city which 
prophets and apostles and saints of every 
age, have desired, and longed for; that city 
which Abraham, when "he sojourned in the 
land of promise, as in a strange country," 
*Rev. xxi, 2, 11. f Rev. xxi, 21. J Rev. xxi, 22. 



BLESSEDNESS OF THE SAINTS. 173 



looked for, "For he looked for a city which 
hath foundations, whose builder and maker 
is God."* 

Heaven is that "better country" which 
all the saints of old, who "confessed that 
they were strangers and pilgrims on the 
earth," desired and sought to obtain "But 
now they desire a better country, that is, a 
heavenly; wherefore God is not ashamed to 
be called their God; for he hath prepared 
for them a city."f To this heavenly home, 
God will bring all his children, and Jesus 
will there dwell among them, for ever and 
ever. 

When all the saints shall be brought 
home to be for ever with the Lord, they will 
be perfectly blessed. They will enjoy the 
full assurance of Christ's love, and the 
eternal smiles of his countenance! What 
heart can conceive the unutterable bliss of 
the Redeemed, when brought into the 
glorious palace of the great King, where 
there is fullness of joy, and pleasures for 
evermore. They will be far from a world of 
grief, and sin. They will be beyond the 
*Heb. xi, 10. fHeb. xi, 16. 



174 



THE HAPPY HOME. 



leach of suffering. No gloom or sorrow 
shall ever becloud their bright spirits in the 
presence of Christ. They shall be for ever 
happy with him. Reaching the happy 
shores of Immanuel's land, they shall dwell 
with God. They shall see him "Blessed 
are the pure in heart, for they shall see 
God."* Their souls shall be filled with 
unutterable bliss, amid the splendors of the 
beatific vision, and the sublime raptures 
of celestial joys. The ineffable glories of 
the Deity, shall then beam forth upon the 
redeemed. And, "Then shall the righteous 
shine forth, as the sun, in the kingdom of 
their Father. "f To the love of Christ the 
saints will owe all their blessedness in another 
world. 

Let us contemplate this blessedness. In 
the word of God we see it described. In the 
7th chapter of Revelation there is contained 
a glimpse of heaven — of the redeemed in 
glory. 

There we find that when all the redeemed 
shall be brought home to glory, they will 
form a mighty host. "After this I beheld, 
* Matt, v, 8. t Matt, xiii, 43. 



BLESSEDNESS OF THE SAINTS. 175 



and, lo a great multitude, which no man 
could number, of all nations, and kindreds^ 
and people, and tongues, stood before the 
throne, and before the lamb, clothed with 
white robes and palms in their hands."*' 
Millions of Adam's sons and daughters shall 
be brought to glory, through the merits of 
Immanuel. 

There we find whence this mighty multi- 
tude came. To the questions, "What are 
these which are arrayed in white robes? and 
whence came they?" it is answered "These 
are they which come out of great tribula- 
tion, and have washed their robes, and made 
them white in the blood of the Lamb."f 

The saints have travelled a rough road to 
glory 5 and have come out of great tribulation. 
Many of them have gone through the fires 
of persecution, and their souls have ascen- 
ded to glory amid the flames of martyrdom. 
Many of that blessed number who now stand 
before God, "were stoned, were sawm asun- 
der, were tempted, were slain with the 
sword, 5 ' were once "destitute, afflicted, tor- 
mented;"! but they have come out of all 

* Rev. vii, 9. f Rev. vii, 14. J Heb. xi, 37. 



176 



THE HAPPY HOME. 



their tribulations, and are now happy before 
the throne of God. 

The saints have all washed their robes 
and made them white in the blood of the 
lamb. They are invested with the snowy, 
spotless robe of the Redeemer's righteous- 
ness. "This" says an eloquent writer,* 
"is the only garb which a child of Adam can 
wear before the throne of God. And though 
the apparel of some may be more curiously 
wrought and exquisitely embroidered than 
that of others, though the hand of the 
beautifying Spirit may have made it 'raiment 
of needle- work' — the hue and lustre of each 
is the same. Every spirit in glory wears 
the vesture radiant with redeeming righteous* 
ness- — the snowy robe w T hich speaks of the 
fountain opened, and which will commemo- 
rate throught eternity, the blood of the 
Lamb." 

The employment of the saints in heaven 
is also described in this glorious vision. 
They serve God. "Therefore are they 
before the throne of God, and serve him day 
and night in his temple."f "They cry with 

*Rev. J. Hamilton, of London. t Rev. vii, 15. 



BLESSEDNESS OF THE SAINTS. 177 

a loud voice, saing, Salvation to our God 
which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the 
Lamb."* "And his servants shall serve 
him."f 

What a contrast is there between the 
service of God on earth, and in heaven ! Here, 
all our divine services are imperfectly per- 
formed : there, all is perfection itself. Here, 
when the spirit is often willing, the flesh is 
weak, and soon wearied, even in the sweetest 
seasons of devotion and heavenly meditation : 
there " they rest not day and night, saying 
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which 
was, and is, and is to come. 5 'J And again, 
" Thou art worthy, 0 Lord, to receive glory 
and honor and power; for thou hast created 
all things, and for thy pleasure they are and 
were created."|| 

The employment of redeemed saints will 
be that of everlasting praise and adoration. 
They will praise and admire the Saviour, for 
his unbounded love and goodness to them. 
They will contemplate that glorious salva- 



* Rev. vii, 10. 
t Rev. xxii, 3, 

15 



t Rev. iv, 8. 
|| Rev, iv, 11. 



178 



THE HAPPY HOME. 



lion, of which " the prophets have inquired 
and searched diligently," and which " the 
angels desire to look into. 55 Redemption 
and salvation by Christ will constitute their 
unending theme \ in the contemplation of 
which, their souls shall be lost in wonder, 
love and praise. 

A crucified Saviour will be the wonder of 
heaven, and will employ ransomed souls in 
holy meditations through an inconceivable 
eternity. " Christ crucified, 55 says an ex- 
cellent old divine,* " is the library which 
triumphant souls will be studying in to all 
eternity. 55 Eternity itself will be too shorty 
in which to unfold the wonders of redeeming 
love, or to speak the praises of that blessed 
Redeemer who w T as crucified on Calvary for 
a sinful world. With increasing wonder and 
admiration shall that ransomed host, who 
stand upon Mount Zion, eternally search into 
the wonders of Christ 5 s redeeming love as 
manifested to them. And all the redeemed) 
casting their crowns before the throne in 
token of their own unworthiness, shall unite 
in one long, loud, adoring anthem of praise; 
* Bishop Stillingfleet in Origines Sacrae, lib. 3, c. 6. 



BLESSEDNESS OF THE SAINTS. 179 

in one grand, everlasting chorus : 6 Worthy 
is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, 
and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and 
honor, and glory, and blessing/ 6 Blessing, 
and honor, and glory, and power, be unto 
him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto 
the Lamb forever and ever.'* They sing 
unceasing praises to him who loved them, 
and washed them from their sins in his own 
blood. 6 Unto him that loved us, and washed 
us from our sins in his own blood, and hath 
made us kings and priests unto God and his 
Father; to him be glory and dominion for 
ever and ever. Amen.'f 6 They sing the song 
of Moses the servant of God, and the song 
of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous 
are thy works, Lord God Almighty : just and 
true are thy ways, thou King of saints!' " £ 

Such is the employment of heaven; and 
its blessed inhabitants shall have power and 
ability to worship and serve God without 
weariness, forever. 

The saints shall be perfectly happy in the 
presence of Christ. Free from all sorrow, 
they shall possess immortal joys in the pre- 
* Rev. v, 12, 13. f Rev. i, 5, 6. $ Rev, xv, 3, 4. 



ISO 



THE HAPPY HOME. 



sence of Him who sitteth on the throne. 
They shall not know what sorrow is, any 
more. All tears shall be wiped away; for 
" He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell 
among them. They shall hunger no more, 
neither thirst any more; neither shall the 
sun light on them, nor any heat. For the 
Lamb which is in the midst of the throne 
shall feed them, and shall lead them unto 
living fountains of waters; and God shall 
wipe away all tears from their eyes."* 

Here, the saints weep, and wail, and 
experience the distressing calamities and 
sorrows of mortal life. They feel the mu- 
tations of this ever varying scene. They are 
often in the depths of adversity and distress. 
They also experience changes in the spiritual 
life. To-day they may be on Pisgah, with 
heaven in their view, rejoicing; to-morrow, 
in the valley of Baca, weeping. To-day, the 
sunshine of Christianity may illumine their 
path ; to-morrow they may wander about, 
enveloped in spiritual darkness. Here, the 
dearest ties are cut asunder, and the tenderest 
cords broken; which causes the heart to 
* Rev. vii, 15 - 17. 



BLESSEDNESS OF THE SAINTS. 181 



overflow with sorrow. Our friends die, and 
tears trickle down our cheeks; and perhaps 
we ourselves go down with sorrow to the 
grave. " Thou feedest them with the bread 
of tears, and givest them tears to drink in 
great measure."* 

Thus the saints keenly feel the sorrows of 
this mortal state; but in heaven, 66 God shall 
wipe away all tears from their eyes; and 
there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, 
nor crying, neither shall there be any more 
pain : for the former things are passed 
away."f 

In heaven, the saints shall obtain ever- 
lasting joy. " Everlasting joy shall be unto 
them. "J " Therefore the redeemed of the 
Lord shall return, and come with singing 
untoZion; and everlasting joy shall be upon 
their head : they shall obtain gladness and 
joy, and sorrow and mourning shall flee 
away."|| " They that sow in tears shall reap 
in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, 
bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come 

* Psalm lxxx, 5. $ Isaiah Ixi, 7. 

t Rev. xxi, 4. || Isaiah li, 11. 

15* 



182 



THE HAPPY HOME. 



again rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with 
him."* And then "the days of thy mourning 
shall be ended. "f Our joy in heaven shall 
be full, satisfying, and eternal. 

The redeemed shall be free from all the 
sufferings, pains, and diseases that afflict 
humanity, and render this mortal life one 
continual scene of distress. In that happy 
world, " the inhabitant shall not say, I am 
sick : the people that dwell therein shall be 
forgiven their iniquity."! 

Immortal health and vigor bloom in hea- 
ven. Sin, the cause of sickness, and pain, and 
sorrow, shall be excluded from that blessed 
world. There, no tears bedew the cheek, no 
sorrows rend the heart, no pain is felt, no 
dissolution is feared; for death itself is swal- 
lowed up in victory. "And there shall be no 
more death." 

This is nothing but a dying world. Here, 
death strikes its dart, and cuts down our 
dearest friends. Perhaps he who now reads 
these lines may have stood over the dying 
bed of a dear relative or friend, and, with 
bitter sorrow, taken the last farewell, and 
^Psalm cxxvi, 5, 6. t Is. lx, 21. $ Is. xxxiii, 24. 



BLESSEDNESS GF THE SAINTS. 183 

witnessed the death-struggles of him or her 
whom he loved. 

Death annually sweeps off a multitude of 
the human race. The sun now shines upon 
the graves of thousands, wbp, but a year ago, 
bloomed with health and vigor. Where are 
they now? Gone, Nov/ they are numbered 
among the dead. Now, clad with all the 
habiliments of the grave, they lie cold and 
lifeless in death's narrow house ■ — in the 
grave's dismal mansion. 

In heaven there shall be no more death, 
nor painful separation of kindred souls. 
Eternal life shall be enjoyed by the blessed 
inhabitants of the New Jerusalem. The last 
enemy shall have been destroyed. Then will 
God say, concerning his redeemed ones, " I 
will ransom them from the power of the 
grave; I will redeem them from death : 0 
death, I will be thy plague; 0 grave, I will 
be thy destruction."* Then, " this corrup- 
tible must put on incorruption, and this mor- 
tal must put on immortality : then shall be 
brought to pass the saying that is written, 
Death is swallowed up in victory."! 

f Hpsea xiii, 14. t 2 Cor. xv, 53, 54. 



184 



THE HAPPY HOME. 



In those celestial mansions, all the ira-* 
mortal sons of God shall meet in blissful 
harmony and adoring praise^ to be forever 
with the Lord. 

The saints shall enjoy eternal rest in 
heaven. " There the wicked cease from 
troubling, and there the weary be at rest."* 
They shall be perfectly holy and happy; and 
shall eternally bask in the sunshine of God's 
immediate presence, and drink of those per-* 
ennial streams that issue from the fountain 
of life. The Lamb shall feed them, and lead 
them to living fountains of waters.f 

* Job iii, 17. 

t " The Godhead is a boundless sea, on which the 
thin island of creation floats ; and though the region 
be ever so dry and arid — a burning Baca — and though 
the object be ever so bleak and bald — a grim Horeb, a 
flinty rock — it needs only the touch of the prophet's 
rod, and forthwith a fountain springs as exhaustless as 
that divine perfection whence it flows. In that better 
country the Horeb never staunches, and the Baca never 
dries : the fountains play perpetually, and the waters 
ever live; and the Lamb is familiar with them all. 
To the woody brink of one he leads his white-robed 
followers-, and in its fringing glories and populous 
profound, they read the riches of creative power and 
skill. To the melodious verge of another he conducts 



BLESSEDNESS OF THE SAINTS. 185 



The saints shall spend an everlasting day 
of light and blessedness in Immanuel's land; 
**■ and there shall be no night there. 55 Eternal 
day smiles in those blessed regions. " Thy 
sun shall no more go down, neither shall thy 
moon withdraw itself; for the Lord shall be 
thine everlasting light, and the days of thy 
mourning shall be ended." # 

In that bright world which the saints are 
going to possess, all will be irradiated by 
the glory of God and of the Lamb. The 
glorious Sun of righteousness will illuminate 
the heavenly world, the celestial city. " Thy 
sun shall be no more thy light by day, nei- 
ther for brightness shall the moon give light 

them • and in the fountain of light which gushes high., 
and flings its rainbows wide 5 in the balm scattered by 
its wafted dews, and the song with which the branches 
wave, they hear it endlessly repeated, 4 God is love.' 
And to another still he guides them.; and simple as 
the margin looks, and limpid as the waters are, it di- 
lates and deepens as they gaze-, deepens, till it mocks 
the longest line; widens, till Gabriel 3 s eye can see no 
shore-, and in its fathomless abyss, and ever-retreating 
bound, they recognize the divine unsearchableness. In 
Paradise, every fountain lives, and each fountain is a 
lesson full of God. 1 ' — Rev. J. Hamilton. 
* Isaiah lx, 20. 



186 



THE HAPPY HOME* 



unto thee; but the Lord shall be unto thee 
an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory."* 
"And the city had no need of the sun, neither 
of the moon, to shine in it; for the glory of 
God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light 
thereof; and the nations of them which are 
saved shall walk in the light of it, and the 
gates of it shall not be shut at all by day, 
for there shall be no night there."f 

The saints " shall inherit all things," and 
" reign with Christ forever and ever." Such 
is the blessedness of the saints; and to crown 
all their heavenly bliss, it will be eternal. 
Heaven is a state of never-ending bliss. 
Eternity stamps an infinite value on celestial 
happiness. 

u O ye blest scenes of permanent delight! 
Full, above measure ! lasting, beyond boun4 ! 
A perpetuity of bliss, is bliss." 

With regard to perpetuity, what a striking 
contrast is there between earthly and heaven- 
ly joys! How transient are all sublunary 
pleasures? "Passing away," is indelibly 
stamped upon all that is terrestrial. "The 
world passeth away, and the lust thereof."^ 
* Is. lx, 19. t Rev. xxi, 23 -25. J 1 Jobn ii. 17. 



BLESSEDNESS OF THE SAINTS. 187 

Youth and beauty, health and strength, 
"riches and honor are passing away. Incessant 
changes characterize this globe, and all its 
inhabitants; but no such changes are known 
in heaven. 

"Lord, I long to be at home, 

Where these changes never come I 

Where the saints no winter fear, 

Where 'tis spring throughout the year 5 

How unlike this state below! 

There the flowers unwithering blow, 

There no chilling blasts annoy, 

All is love, and bloom, and joy." — Newton. 

The joys of the christian's happy home 
never ends. The pleasures which are at 
God's right hand endure for ever, 

"Oh yes! those sweet words for ever, 
shall be att&ceed to every thing in glory, 
You shall eat of the tree of life; drink of 
the water of life; wear the crown of life; 
you shall be made a pillar in the temple of 
God, and there shall be no more going 
out." 

But Oh! what is the for ever of heaven, 
who can describe it? who can comprehend 
vast eternity, the measure of the saint's bliss? 



188 



THE HAPPY HOME. 



"Were the house you inhabit/' says a 
very pious, solemn writer* "to be filled 
with the finest sand, and then emptied so 
slowly that but the smallest grain should be 
taken out once in ten thousand years, how 
many millions of ages would pass away 
before the last grain were removed! yet ? 
compared with eternity, these countless 
years would be like the twinkling of an eye. 
Were the mighty seas which dash their 
waves upon so many shores, to be suddenly 
changed into one mass of ink, and then to 
be employed in numbering down figures^ 
and the least figure to signify a million of 
years, what countless ages would be num- 
bered down before the seas were emptied; 
yet he w T ho wrote the last figure might say, 
'These ages are not eternity: they are 
nothingness itself, compared with that; less 
than one drop to all the sea; less than one 
moment to all these infinite years; they are 
like a tale that is told; or a sigh that is 
forgotten. 5 

Were this vast world one mass of sand, 
and were the Most High, by his infinite 
* Rev. J. G Pike. 



BLESSEDNESS OF THE SAINTS. 189 

• 

power, to create as many worlds as there 
might be grains of sand in this; and were he 
then to commission a ministering angel to 
destroy them all, by removing grain after 
grain, yet so slowly that he should remove 
but one grain in a million of years, what 
millions, and millions, and millions of years, 
beyond all thought and conception, would 
pass away before one world were thus de- 
stroyed ! and 0, what before all these num- 
bers were! What an eternity would be here! 
An eternity! no, not a moment, compared 
with it. Sand after sand would be removed, 
though at so infinitely slow a rate; world 
after world would be destroyed; and the 
angel would finish his task, but not finish 
eternity. Eternity would be eternity still. 
One grain of sand would bear some propor- 
tion to these numberless worlds; one moment 
to these countless millions of ages ; but all 
these would bear none to eternity; when 
they were passed, it would still be 'begin- 
ning — rather beginning to begin.' " Such 
is the for ever of heaven. 
16 



190 THE HAPPY HOME. 

Eternity! who can grasp the immense 
idea which this short word conveys? When 
millions and millions of ages shall have 
passed away, the blessed inhabitants of 
Immanuel'sland will be young in immortality, 
and there will still be stretched before them 
an "evermore/ 5 in which they will enjoy 
perfect blessedness at God's right hand. 

Oh ! what a blessed, happy home is heaven. 
"And what a home for us to return to and 
abide in forever! A home prepared before 
the foundation of the world. A home in the 
many mansions; a home in the innermost cir- 
cle of creation, nearest the throne and heart 
of God ; a home whose peace shall never be 
broken by the sound of war or tempest, 
whose brightness shall never be overcast by 
the remotest shadow of a cloud. How so- 
lacing to the weary spirit, to think of a rest- 
ing place so near, and that resting-place 
our Father's house, where we shall hunger 
no more, neither thirst any more; where the 
sun shall not light on us, nor any heat; 
where the Lamb that is in the midst of the 
throne shall feed us, and lead us to living 



BLESSEDNESS OF THE SAINTS. 191 

fountains of waters, and God shall wipe 
away all tears from our eyes.' 5 * 

0! how near is our happy home — it is 
just within sight. How near, how very near 
is eternity : it is even at the door ! 

Christian reader, you shall soon, very 
soon reach your happy home. Already your 
earthly course may be nearly terminated. 
One step more, and you will have gained the 
happy shores of Immanuel's fair land. 
Having crossed the tempestuous ocean of 
life, you will enjoy the refreshing breezes of 
heaven, and the calm repose of the saints' 
everlasting home. Your redemption is 
drawing near. "Now is our salvation nearer 
than w T hen we believed. The night is far 
spent, the day is at hand." A few more 
suns shall rise and set> and then the un- 
seizing sun shall rise in the " new heavens." 
A few more days, and then will dawn the 
eternal day. A few more fleeting years will 
pass swiftly by, and then the everlasting 

* H. Bonar, author of "The Night of Weeping," 
and u The Morning of Joy," two charming little 
volumes, written in a pleasing style. 



192 



THE HAPPY HOME. 



cycles of eternity will roll on. You will 
soon exchange a cross of suffering on earth, 
for a crown of glory in heaven, immortal, 
incorruptible, and that fadeth not away. 
You will soon join with the whole family of 
God, in the contemplation of Christ's re- 
deeming love. One theme, that of redemp- 
tion, shall then employ every soul, and every 
tongue shall be tuned to the praises of Im- 
manuel. With your redeemed companions 
in glory, you will soon unite in that sweet, 
sweet song, "Unto him that loved us, and 
washed us from our sins in his own (yea, his 
own most precious) blood, and hath made us 
kings and priests unto God and his Father; 
to him be glory and dominion for ever and 
eyer. Amen. 55 

The time is short. "The Lord is at hand." 
"Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, 
come Lord Jesus. 55 * 

* Rev. xxii, 20. 



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